noon
They were not seeking the level routes of the forest land , that was sure . They rode straight across the thick-timbered ridge down into another canyon , up out of that , and across rough , rocky bluffs , and down again . These riders headed a little to the northwest and every mile brought them into wilder , more rugged country , until Ellen , losing count of canyons and ridges , had no idea where she was . No stop was made at noon to rest the laboring , sweating pack animals . Under circumstances where pleasure might have been possible Ellen would have reveled in this hard ride into a wonderful forest ever thickening and darkening . But the wild beauty of glade and the spruce slopes and the deep , bronze-walled canyons left her cold . She saw and felt , but had no thrill , except now and then a thrill of alarm when Spades slid to his haunches down some steep , damp , piny declivity .