Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/107

Rh the valley, and could not be very far away, judging by the depth of the snow, and the crookedness of her trail. Forgotten were his own troubles as he thought of the girl’s desperate situation. He must follow after and do what he could for her welfare, providing she were still alive.

It did not take Hugo long to speed across the snowy waste, and reach a thicket of trees beyond. But at every stride his eyes were upon the marks in the snow. At times he saw where the girl had circled to the right and then to the left, showing plainly the bewildered state of her mind. He could not tell how long before she had passed that way. If but a few minutes, he might be able to save her. But if an hour, or even less, had elapsed, he feared he might be too late. But with feverish haste he pressed onward, entered the thicket, passed through and came out shortly on the opposite side. Here he halted and looked around. It was a region over which a fire had swept the year before, and forms of trees stood gaunt and bare. His eyes searched keenly for some moving object in the midst of the mass of upturned roots and fallen trees. But no sign of life could he see.

He was about to continue his journey when a peculiar sound fell upon his ears. Listening intently, he found that it came from the left. It was like a human voice, yet he could not distinguish what was being said. He knew that it must be the girl, and his heart leaped with hope as he hurried forward. It took him only a few minutes to reach the place where Zell was lying upon the snow, still babbling and crooning about other days.

“Hello, girl, what are you doing here?” Hugo demanded.

But Zell gave no sign of recognition. She kept on