All day long these two
strange ban dogs followed him and gave no sign of hunger or
malice; then, after he crossed a river, at three in the
afternoon, he saw no more of them. Years after, when Rolf knew
them better, he believed they followed him out of mild curiosity,
or possibly in the hope that he would kill a deer in which they
might share. And when they left him, it was because they were
near the edge of their own home region; they had seen him off
their hunting grounds.
That night he camped sixty miles from Ticonderoga, but he was
resolved to cover the distance in one day. Had he not promised to
be back in a week? The older hands had shaken their heads
incredulously, and he, in the pride of his legs, was determined
to be as good as his promise. He scarcely dared sleep lest he
should oversleep. At ten he lay down. At eleven the moon was due
to rise; as soon as that was three hours high there would be
light enough, and he proposed to go on. At least half a dozen
times he woke with a start, fearing he had overslept, but
reassured by a glance at the low-hung moon, he had slumbered
again.
At last the moon was four hours high, and the woods were plain in
the soft light.
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