midday
For over an hour we stumbled along the track , making no effort to keep under cover in case Leith should have prepared an ambush . It was useless to argue with Holman , and my own feelings were such that I preferred to take the risks of the route which Soma 's axe had cut , to the delays which the task of forcing our own passage through the labyrinth would bring upon us . Prudence was thrust into the background by the intense hate we entertained for the devil who had entrapped us . It was near midday when our pursuit met with an interruption . A revolver cracked in a clump of wild ginger directly in front , and we took cover immediately . The bullet had whizzed close to Holman 's head , and as we lay panting in the ribbon-grass we congratulated ourselves on the fact that we had been met with a single shot instead of a volley . We had taken a big chance and had come off lucky .