nd all was darkness and silence once more.

It wanted an hour of daylight when they came to the mouth of the pass
by which they were to escape through the ring of hills which encircled
the valley.

"Must wait now," said Me Dain. "She say no man can go through the pass
unless he can see the way."

"Are we to lose time, Me Dain?" said Jack. "Can't we creep on slowly
and make a little headway?"

The Burman talked again to the woman, but she was most emphatic in
declaring that nothing could be done until the day broke; so they
crouched in silence under lee of a great boulder until the first faint
bars of light began to show in the east.

As soon as it was possible to see a yard or so before them the march
began. The woman led the way, with her sleeping child in her arms, Me
Dain followed her closely, and Jack and his father brought up the
rear.

They soon saw why daylight had been needed for the task of escaping
from the valley by this road. Their way lay through a narrow pass
which ran through a deep cleft of the mountains, a cleft which seemed
as though it had been carved out by a blow of a Titanic axe. There
was scarcely a yard of the narrow path upon which a step could be
taken smoothly and easily. For ages upon ages the forces of nature had
been tearing huge boulders and slices of rock from the frowning
heights above, and toppling them into this crevice between the
mountains. Thus the way was littered with huge stones, over which they
climbed, between which they threaded their way, down which they often
slid and scrambled as best they could.

For some hours they toiled steadily along this wild, rocky gorge, then
a halt was called to rest and breathe. The native woman, a lithe,
nimble creature, was as little discomposed by the hard, rough march as
any of them, although she carried her child, nor would she allow
anyone to help her with her burden.

Their breathing space was but short. They had halted on a ridge which
commanded a big stretch of the country they had crossed. Jack was
seated on the ground, with his back to the wall of rock behind them.
Suddenly he sprang to his feet. He looked steadily for a moment down
the pass, then he said quietly, "We are pursued."

Mr. Haydon had stretched himself at full length on the ground to rest.
Hearing those words from his son, he leapt also to his feet and looked
eagerly in the direction to which Jack's outstretched finger was
pointed. Far away a patch of the pass l