'm thinking we'll try
the big flow and lose them in the mire."

He rose and crossing the summit started down the incline, while Foster
followed as fast as he could. It would be some time before the others
reached the spot they had left, but the light of the sinking moon
touched the face of the hill and as long as they were moving their
figures could be seen. When they reached the bottom Pete headed west,
and presently stopped at the edge of a wide level space. Tufts of wild
cotton gleamed lividly in the moonlight, and here and there a sparkle
marked a pool, but, farther on, a trail of mist stretched across the
bog. It did not look inviting, and when Pete stopped for a few moments
Foster heard the water bubble through the wet moss in which his feet
sank.

"The black burn rins on the ither side, and there's just one place
where ye can cross," Pete said thoughtfully. "An old shieling stands
on a bit dry knowe near the middle o' the flow, and I wouldna' say but
we might spend the night there, if it was needful."

Foster left it to him, although he was not much attracted by the
thought of spending the night in the bog, and Pete moved forward
cautiously. He seemed to be following a track, because he went
straight ahead, tramping through clumps of rushes, and splashing into
pools. Foster noted that the latter were shallow, though he had fallen
into bog-holes that were deep. They tried to move silently, but they
made some noise, and he felt relieved when they plunged into a belt of
mist that would hide them from their pursuers. By the look of the
ground to left and right, he imagined that a stranger who lost the
track would have serious trouble in regaining firm soil,

When they came out of the mist, however, he began to find the silence
daunting. On the hills one could hear the grouse and plover crying and
the murmur of running water, but an oppressive quietness brooded over
the flow. Nor could he see much except rushes, treacherous moss, and
dully-glimmering pools. By and by, however, a dark mass loomed through
the haze and Pete stopped and looked back.

For a moment or two Foster heard nothing, and then there was a splash
and a noise, as if somebody was floundering through the rushes. The
sounds were nearer than he had thought possible, and he glanced at his
companion.

"They're no' traiveling badly and they've keepit the track so far,"
Pete remarked. "Maybe ye wouldn'a care to try their speed for the ne