Fortunately the forest was very dense, but unfortunately the clouds began to thicken, and a rumble dull and low came from the far horizon.  Then the clouds parted, cut squarely down the middle by a flash of lightning, and for a moment a dazzling glow of light played over the dripping forest.  Everything was revealed by it, every twig and leaf stood out in startling distinctness, and Paul, by impulse, sank lower to hide himself among the bushes.

The glow vanished and Henry had seen nothing; he was sure, too, that no one had seen them, but he knew that it was only luck; another flash might reveal them, and he and Paul must now hasten, taking the chances of discovery by noise.  He spoke a word to his comrade, and they plunged more rapidly through the undergrowth.  The thunder kept up an unceasing and threatening murmur on the far horizon, and the lightning flared fitfully now and then, but they were still unseen, and Henry hoped that they had now passed the ring of savages in the forest and the dusk.

Paul had dropped back from Henry’s side, but was following closely behind him.  He was deeply impressed by a situation so extraordinary for one of his type.  The thunder, the lightning, the darkness and the danger contained for him all the elements of awe and mystery.

“I think we’ve shaken them off,” said Henry presently, “and unless the lightning shows us to some stray member of the band they can’t pick up our trail again before morning.”

Paul was grateful for the assurance, and he noticed, too, that the danger of the lightning’s revelation was decreasing, as the flashes were becoming less frequent and vivid.  His breathing now grew easier and his spirits rose.  Much of the gloom departed from the forest.  The thunder that had kept up a continuous low rolling, like a dirge, died away, and the lightning, after a few more weak and ineffectual flashes, ceased.

“We won’t have any further trouble to-night, that’s sure,” said Henry.  “They could not possibly find our trail before day, and I think we’d better push on, as nearly as we can, in the direction of our hidden powder.  You know we still mean to do what we started out to do.”

They traveled all night, with brief periods of rest, through rough and densely wooded country.  Toward morning the rain ceased, and the clouds all floated away.  The stars came out in a clear sky, and a warm wind blew over the wet forest.  Henry looked more than once at Paul, and his look was always full of sympathy.  Paul’s face was pale, but his expression was set in firm resolve, and Henry knew that he would never yield.

After a while the dark began to lighten, and Henry stopped short in surprise.  Paul was walking in such automatic fashion that he almost ran against him before he stopped.  Henry pointed with a long forefinger to a red spot deep in the forest.

“See that?” he said.

“Yes, I guess it’s the sun rising,” said Paul, who was staggering a little, and who saw through a cloud, as it were.