The old man had been at the back of the line, attending to the last pack animal. There was a smile on his face as he approached his young friends.
“We’ve made unusually good time,” he said, sitting down beside them, “and we can afford a rest.”
“We earned it, all right,” came from Joe. “How much more of this is there?”
“A long stretch,” Dr. Rander responded. “Several miles, to say the least. Of course,” he added, “it would not be long if we could go in a straight line. But over mountains and around cliffs the going is much different.”
“I’ll say it is!” Joe was still panting from the difficult climb. The high altitude required an unusual amount of wind.
Fifteen minutes later they were ready to continue. The mules had been coaxed ahead over the dangerous ledge.
“Getting darker,” observed Bob Holton. “Wonder if it’s going to rain?”
Dr. Rander looked up anxiously. Sure enough, heavy clouds were forming above the mountain tops, hiding the sun from view.
“It would not be well for us to be caught in a storm here,” the old explorer said. “We must seek shelter somewhere. It certainly looks as if a storm will be upon us before long.”