"In that case, Charlie, even if all goes well it will be from forty to fifty days before I see my dear father."
"But I think we shall travel a good bit faster than that," Carter said encouragingly. "Everywhere through these mountains are valleys, some of them of considerable size, and containing a dozen or more villages. Of course when we come upon these we could travel at night, and ought to be able to do from twenty to thirty miles. We could not have done that at first, but the practice we have had at this work has put us into first-rate marching condition."
"Yes, except my feet, Charlie; think of my poor feet. My shoes are fast disappearing, and I don't know what I shall do when they come quite to pieces."
"I must kill a goat and make a pair of sandals for you of its skin."
"Thank you, Charlie, that would be first rate; still, these shoes will do for a bit yet, and I am a little doubtful as to your capabilities as a shoemaker. Well, I think we shall do better to-morrow. From the high ridge we last crossed I could see a large valley in front of us, and I am not sure but I saw villages."
"Then your eyes are sharper than mine are; I saw the valley, but I failed to make out anything like habitations. However, in any case, we are not likely to go very fast to-morrow, for I should say that we must be still some fifteen miles from the valley."
"Oh well, one day will not make any very great difference. We will go on as long as it is light enough to see, and then camp for the night, go down the next day to a point low in the hills, and can either camp for the night or stop twenty-four hours."
"I certainly vote for the halt," Carter said, "I am sure that we deserve it. How did you think the valley lay?"
"I should think, from the appearance of the hills behind it, that it must run north and south, which is the right direction for us."
"Probably when we get to the other end," Carter said, "we shall find a track of some sort, through which we can pass into the next valley. I don't know whether there is much traffic between these villages; if so, we shall have to travel at night; if not, we can risk it and go on by day. I hope the latter will be the case. It will be bad enough finding our way along the valleys now that there is no moon, and we should make very slow work of it on the tracks connecting them on a dark night."