‘Toss for it. Your guess is as good as mine.’
‘Let’s go right.’
We went right. The ground was uneven and after walking some minutes, I realized we were going downhill.
‘Now, wait a minute. This goes down. We should be going up. We’d better go back and try the left-hand branch.’
‘You see what I mean?’ There was an edge to her voice I had never heard before. That’s what’s been happening to me. I’ve walked for hours.’
‘Come on.’
We went back to the intersection and started off down the fennel to the left. We walked for perhaps five minutes then suddenly we were confronted by solid rock.
‘I—I don’t think you’re going to be much better at this than me,’ Paula said breathlessly.
‘Take it easy.’ I was a little worried about her. She was usually so cool and unruffled. I had an idea she wasn’t far off hysteria at this moment. ‘Maybe that other way goes down and then up. We’ll try it.’
‘I was crazy to come down here alone!* She caught hold of my arm. ‘Why didn’t I get Mifflin? We’re lost, Vic. We could go on like this for weeks.’