His courage was gone only an instant or two.  Then it came back stronger than ever.  The note of his guide, clear and uplifting, rose again, and he increased his speed, lest he be enclosed within those horns.  The far slope was rocky and he leaped from one stony outcrop to another.  Even if he could hide his trail only a few yards it would be so much time gained while they were compelled to seek it.  He was forced to watch his steps here, but, when he was at the bottom and looked up, the blue flame was still before him.  On it went over the next slope and he followed at speed, noticing with joy that the rocky nature of the ground continued, and the most skillful warrior who ever lived must spend many minutes hunting his traces.  He had no doubt that he was gaining and he had proof of it in the fact that the pursuers now uttered no cry.  Had they been closing in on him they would have called to one another in triumph.

Well for him that he was so strong and sound of heart and lung!  Well for him too that he was borne up by a great spirit and by his belief that a supreme power was working in his behalf.  He felt little weariness as he climbed a ridge.  His breath was easy and regular and his steps were long and swift.  His guide was before him.  Whatever his pace, whether fast or slow, the distance between them never seemed to change.  The bird would dart aside, perhaps to catch an insect, but it always returned promptly to its course.

His eyes caught a gleam of silver from the crest of the fourth ridge that he crossed, and he knew it was a ray of sunlight striking upon the waters of the lake.  Now his coveted haven was not so far away, and the great pulses in his temples throbbed.  He would reach the lake, and he would find refuge.  Tandakora, in all his malice, would fail once more.  The thought was so pleasant to him that he laughed aloud, and now feeling the need to use the strength he had saved with such care he began to run as fast as he could.  It was his object to open up a wide gap between himself and the warriors, one so great that, if occasion came, he might double or turn without being seen.

The forest remained dense, a sea of trees with many bushes and clinging vines in which an ignorant or incautious runner would have tripped and fallen, but Robert was neither, and he did not forget, as he fled, to notice where his feet fell.  His skill and presence of mind kept him from stumbling or from making any noise that would draw the attention of possible pursuers who might have crept up on his flank.  While they had only his faint trail to guide them the pursuit was impeded, and, as long as they did not see him, his chance to hide was far greater.