She saw before her the narrow opening, the sky above making the upper parts of the walls visible.
She crouched low, and almost crawled forward, her listening strained to the utmost tension.
She tried to subdue her hurried breathing, and realized that to do so she must go very slow, and so permit herself to regain breath. At times she seemed hardly to move at all, as she kept close by one of the dark walls, seeking the deepest shadows for security.
She saw no guard, yet was sure they were there.
Perhaps for the reason that the sentries did not expect any one to come from the valley, and therefore were directing all their attention to the front, where if danger came it would be in the form of pursuers, she passed the sentinels on the walls without being seen, and also came close up to the one who was stationed down in the pass.
Luckily she saw this man, for he was moving about, his gun on his arm.
She dropped to the ground as if dead when she discovered him, and lay there studying the situation, wondering how she was to get by without discovery.
She saw that he walked a beat like a sentinel, from one wall to the other, and that always, when he looked at all, he looked toward the outer entrance.
When she had discovered this, she waited until he turned to walk toward the opposite wall, and then crawled on with the utmost care. She meant to spring to her feet and make a wild dash to pass him if he saw her.
When he had reached the opposite wall, and before he turned, she was lying flat on her face, and could not be seen by him.