In obedience to the instructions of the dying Indian guide, Fred left the trail and pursued a northern route.
Traveling along the trail was bad, but finding away through the woods was impossible.
Fred realized this when the party had traveled for several hours through the dense forest. From the position of the sun he could tell what time of the day it was, yet he knew, too, that they had not covered more than a mile. There were creeks to cross, swamps to circumvent, fallen trees to avoid, and difficulties of all kinds.
At noon the three held a council and considered what to do.
"The guide was right in saying that we cannot travel through the woods on horseback," Fred began; "I fear we must get rid of the steeds."
"But how are we to walk through this mass of entanglement," Agnes asked.
"We certainly won't make headway without the horses."
"Agnes is right," Matthew ventured to say. "I don't know where we are going, but I do know that on foot we will not get anywhere. So let's keep the horses."
"I fear you are right," Fred meditated, "but I am sure the horses won't benefit us."
Suddenly Agnes exclaimed: "I know what we are going to do! We'll get back to the trail, and follow that to the next settlement. Samowat said that the Indians are south of us. Very well by this time they may be west of us, and we might escape them since we go east. Let's try it; at least then we know where we are going."
"I am in favor of it," Matthew replied; "if we are attacked, we can fight; but who is going to fight with conditions as we find them in this dense underbrush."