long after that that the girls found what they called their
"second wind." They forgot that they were ravenous, that their backs
ached and that their hands were scratched and torn. They worked
furiously in the darkness, their goal the out-of-doors they loved so
well.

For a long time they did not notice that the air was becoming very close
and oppressive and that the perspiration that bothered them so was
caused not alone by their exertion. And when the realization did come it
had the effect of goading them on to more furious effort.

That the horses also felt the change in the atmosphere, was attested to
by their increased nervousness. The trampling of their hoofs sounded
ominous to the girls--they made queer little puffing noises as if they
were getting their breath with greater and greater difficulty.

In one terrible instant the girls realized what might happen when what
was discomfort to the animals now, should become torture. Maddened by
pain and fright, it would be no longer possible to quiet them. And
then--and then----

"Don't you think we'd better stop and try to quiet the horses?" asked
Mollie once, as the champing and snorting in the blackness behind them
became more marked.

"I don't think it would do any good," Betty answered between clenched
teeth as she scooped and dug, scooped and dug. "Better keep on working,
girls. It's the one chance we have."

Oh, the horror of it, the nightmare of it! The heavy air, the hideous
dark, the nervous trampling of those death-bearing hoofs---- The girls
spoke no longer. They were beyond speech. Almost maddened by terror
themselves, they scooped and dug, scooped and dug----

Once they thought they heard voices outside, and shrilly they cried to
their imaginary rescuers. No answering "hallo" reached them, and the
only effect of their cries seemed to be to add to the fright of their
horses and so endanger themselves still more.

On, on, on--while their aching muscles seemed to grow numb with the
strain and their lungs nearly burst with the pressure upon them.

At last they gave in--it seemed that they had to give in. All except
Betty, who kept on desperately, doggedly, her muscles barely able to
respond to the last call she was making upon them.

"I can't go on any more. I'm all in," said Mollie, a desperate quiet in
her voice. "My arms are like lead and my hands are so numb I can't feel
the stone. I guess this is the last adventure of the Outdoor Girls. We
have