ved.

As soon as I had assured myself that such was the case, I made my
preparations to follow and rescue her. Olson, Whitely, and Wilson each
wished to accompany me; but I told them that they were needed here,
since with Bradley's party still absent and the Germans gone it was
necessary that we conserve our force as far as might be possible.

Chapter 8

It was a sad leave-taking as in silence I shook hands with each of the
three remaining men. Even poor Nobs appeared dejected as we quit the
compound and set out upon the well-marked spoor of the abductor. Not
once did I turn my eyes backward toward Fort Dinosaur. I have not
looked upon it since--nor in all likelihood shall I ever look upon it
again. The trail led northwest until it reached the western end of the
sandstone cliffs to the north of the fort; there it ran into a
well-defined path which wound northward into a country we had not as
yet explored. It was a beautiful, gently rolling country, broken by
occasional outcroppings of sandstone and by patches of dense forest
relieved by open, park-like stretches and broad meadows whereon grazed
countless herbivorous animals--red deer, aurochs, and infinite variety
of antelope and at least three distinct species of horse, the latter
ranging in size from a creature about as large as Nobs to a magnificent
animal fourteen to sixteen hands high. These creatures fed together in
perfect amity; nor did they show any great indications of terror when
Nobs and I approached. They moved out of our way and kept their eyes
upon us until we had passed; then they resumed their feeding.

The path led straight across the clearing into another forest, lying
upon the verge of which I saw a bit of white. It appeared to stand out
in marked contrast and incongruity to all its surroundings, and when I
stopped to examine it, I found that it was a small strip of
muslin--part of the hem of a garment. At once I was all excitement, for
I knew that it was a sign left by Lys that she had been carried this
way; it was a tiny bit torn from the hem of the undergarment that she
wore in lieu of the night-robes she had lost with the sinking of the
liner. Crushing the bit of fabric to my lips, I pressed on even more
rapidly than before, because I now knew that I was upon the right trail
and that up to this, point at least, Lys still had lived.

I made over twenty miles that day, for I was now hardened to fatigue
and accustomed to long hikes, h