But the prospect at this particular minute did not seem to be so bright. The rain was coming down steadily, accompanied by sharp crashes of thunder and vivid flashes of lightning, and the two youths had all they could do to keep their feet as they sped along in the direction the runaway horses had taken.
“This is the worst ever!” groaned Roger, as both presently came to a halt with the rocks on one side of them and the forest on the other. “I can’t see anything of those horses, can you?”
Dave did not for the moment reply. He was waiting for the next flash of lightning, and when it came he strained his eyes in an effort to locate the vanished steeds. The effort, however, was a vain one.
“They’re gone, that’s sure,” he announced gloomily. “If the storm didn’t make so much noise we might be able to hear them clattering over the rocks; but between the wind and the thunder that’s impossible.”
“They had to come this way, for it’s the only way. Let us go on a little farther.”
As there was nothing else to do, Dave followed his chum along the edge of the forest and at last the pair reached the spot where they had left the road. Here the pool of water had become much larger and deeper.
“We don’t seem to be getting anywhere,” grumbled the senator’s son, as they came again to a halt. “Just look at this! It’s a miniature lake!”
“We’ll have to get around it somehow, Roger,” was the reply. “Let us try the other side this time.”
“But what about the horses?”
“If they came up here on the roadway I’ve an idea they started straight for camp. They wouldn’t know where else to go.”