Two unsaddled mustangs carrying the packs were
driven in front. Creech limited the gait to the best that the pack-horses
could do. They made fast time. The level forest floor, hard and springy,
afforded the best kind of going.
A cold dread had once more clutched Lucy's heart. What would be the end of
this flight? The way Creech looked back increased her dread. How horrible it
would be if Cordts accomplished what he had always threatened--to run off with
both her and the King! Lucy lost her confidence in Creech. She did not glance
again at Joel. Once had been enough. She rode on with heavy heart. Anxiety and
dread and conjecture and a gradual sinking of spirit weighed her down. Yet she
never had a clearer perception of outside things. The forest loomed thicker
and darker. The sky was seen only through a green, crisscross of foliage
waving in the roaring gale. This strong wind was like a blast in Lucy's face,
and its keen dryness cracked her lips.
When they rode out of the forest, down a gentle slope of wind-swept grass, to
an opening into a canyon Lucy was surprised to recognize the place.
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