Page:Son of the wind.djvu/19

 to curves, of cliffs to gradual rises. The road was ascending, not abruptly, but with the long, scarcely discernible slope which indicates the general trend of the country. At intervals there was a look of openness among the trees, giving him fugitive expectations that the truthfulness of the man on the road was about to be vindicated. But the way led gradually up for an eternity without so much as a rabbit trail to interrupt the monotony of it; it looked more lonely and far less suggestive of life than the cañon, and the idea intruded more and more upon his mind that, after all, the fellow had misdirected him. The thought of a night under the open sky did not trouble him; but the thought that he had been mistaken in his man made him chafe. He had felt so sure, yet now he had to admit that his informer must have had every practical reason in the world for wanting to lead him astray. He remarked that the occasional shafts of sun which found him were changing from white to yellow; then that there was no longer any sun at all. A great shadow lay over everything, and the heat was changing to freshness. He took off his hat the better to feel the fine breath of the air.

Presently the monotonous climb was interrupted by an unexpected descent into a gully, or little cañon. He could see pools of water standing in an expanse