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That first day their way was through a succession of narrow, wooded ravines that were pleasant rather than difficult. The ascent was gradual and was not difficult at any time, and there was sufficient shade to temper the sun’s rays, which, in those southern valleys, would otherwise have been scorching.

The boys would have covered the ground more effectively if they had not been somewhat nervous as a result of the events of the preceding night. They fully expected that the men who had tried to enter their room at the inn would waylay them somewhere on the road that day. The country through which they passed was ideal for such an enterprise, for there was frequent and abundant shelter for an ambush. They were, therefore, constantly on the qui vive, and examined rather carefully before passing every spot that seemed favorable for an attack from robbers. Such vigilance retarded their speed, and they had a feeling that they were making very little progress. The packs, too, though not really heavy, were burdensome, and toward night made the boys’ legs, which lately had not been used to tramping, drag distressingly.