midday
And leaving Brierly to turn the car , he started off with Shad Wells into the underbrush . His heart sank as he saw how furiously the fire was raging and how near it seemed to be . But Shad needed no urging now and led the way with a long stride , Peter following closely . The woods were not so heavy here and the forest was now as bright as at midday , and so they made rapid progress , coming out at the end of some minutes at the edge of the swamp , whose burnished pools sullenly reflected the fiery heavens . There they found a path and proceeded more quickly . To Peter 's anxious questions Shad shook his head and only peered before him , forgetting his own suffering in the dreadful danger to which the girl they sought might be subjected . A terrible thought had come into Peter 's mind in the last few moments -- that it was Hawk Kennedy who had set fire to the woods after imprisoning Beth in a cabin in the path of the flames .