Page:Edison Marshall--Shepherds of the wild.djvu/256



the glow of the fire, and speaking just loud enough to be heard above its roar, Alice and Hugh made swift appraisal of their situation. It was not easy to be calm, to hold the body in subjugation to the brain in that death valley, between two walls of flame. Yet the calm strength of the wilderness itself seemed to be in their thews.

"Wait, wait," the girl whispered. "Every second is precious—but give me time to think. I know this country, and I've got to remember how the canyons lie."

Hugh stood silent, and endless hours seemed to go by before the girl had marshalled all her memories of the geographical nature of Smoky Land. In reality, her thoughts came quickly and surely.

"There's only one way," she told him at last, "and that's only a chance. It depends on how far the fire has advanced behind us. We might ride out through the old Dark Canyon, back from the camp at Two Pines."

"Alice, the fire has already swept it "

"I don't think so. The canyon is deep, and the fire hasn't got down into it. We must run