Every thing served to show me that the river lay to
the left, and so I resolved to turn in at the first path which I
reached.
"At length, after about two miles, we came to a path which went into
the woods. My companion was sure that this was the very one by which
she had come out, and this confirmed the impression which the sight of
it had given me. I thought it certainly must lead toward the river. So
we turned into this path. I went first, and she followed, and so we
went for about a couple of miles further.
"All this time the heat had been getting worse and worse. The air was
more smoky than ever; my mouth was parched and dry. I breathed with
difficulty, and could scarcely drag one leg after another. The lady
was almost as much exhausted as I was, and suffered acutely, as I
could easily see, though she uttered not a word of complaint. Her
horse also suffered terribly, and did not seem able to bear her weight
much longer. The poor brute trembled and staggered, and once or twice
stopped, so that it was difficult to start him again. The road had
gone in a winding way, but was not so crooked as I expected. I
afterward found that she had gone by other paths until she had found
herself in thick woods, and then on trying to retrace her way she had
strayed into this path. If she had turned to the left on first
reaching it, instead of to the right, the fate of each of us would
have been different. Our meeting was no doubt the salvation of both.
"There was a wooded eminence in front, which we had been steadily
approaching for some time.
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