midday
He could tell that he was going up quite an ascent , but toward what point it was impossible to tell . Occasionally his hand or his foot struck the projecting rocks , and the rush of the wind now and then against his face told when they were passing through the more open space . Wonderful indeed was the skill of the Pah Utah , that in the dense darkness showed him , just where and just the outlay of strength that would land his young white friend upon the shelf of safety . Equally extraordinary was the woodcraft that brought him back to the precise spot , and enabled him to thread his way through the impenetrable gloom with the surety of the mountain chamois , which bounds over the fastnesses of the Alps at midday . Elwood was quiescent , for he know whose hand held him upon those brawny shoulders , and he felt that the moccasined foot which touched the earth so lightly was too sure to miss its hold , and the heart throbbing within that dusky bosom pulsated too powerfully with the common humanity of our nature ever to falter or hesitate in its work of love . This singular means of progress was continued for the better part of an hour , when the Indian paused and placed him gently on his feet . The sky , which had partially cleared , enabled him to see that they had emerged from the ridge of hills whose entrance had been so eventful to him , and they now stood in the open woods .