The pass at dusk

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

The pass had already darkened when Elias reached the milepost. Its number showed faintly through the rain, and the track beyond it vanished between the cliffs. He held his lantern close to the ground; its light picked out wet stones, then stopped at the edge of a shallow stream.

A gust swept across the track and snatched the flame sideways. Above him, loose stones clicked against one another, then clattered down the slope. Elias looked up, but the cloud had settled so low that the ridge was gone. He could hear water somewhere ahead, though the rain on the rocks made it impossible to judge how far away it was. For a moment the lantern lit a strip of white mist; then the mist closed over the path, and its small circle of light ended at his boots.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to present the journey becoming threatening. Support your answer with references to the passage.