Then, hurrying along, we found
ourselves upon a track, on which we turned to the right--a track, rough
and deeply-rutted by the felled trunks that were dragged along it to the
nearest river.
Elma made a gesture of renewed hope, and all three of us redoubled our
pace, expecting every moment to come upon some log hut, the owner of
which would surely give us hospitality for the night. But darkness came
on quickly, and yet we still pushed forward. Poor Elma was limping, and
I knew that her injured foot was paining her, even though she could tell
me nothing.
At last, however, after walking for nearly four hours in the almost
impenetrable forest gloom, always fearing lest we might miss the path,
our hearts suddenly beat quickly by seeing before us a light shining in
a window, and five minutes later Felix was knocking at the door, and
asking in Finnish the occupant to give hospitality to a lady lost in
the forest.
We heard a low growl like a muttered imprecation within, and when the
door opened there stood upon the threshold a tall, bearded, muscular old
fellow in a dirty red shirt, with a big revolver shining in his hand.
Pages:
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303