As he got higher among the craggy peaks, that rose sombre and majestic
in the moonlight, the air grew more rarified and his breath came short.
He could see the few lights of the village scattered here and there in
the dark valley, and hear the clangor of the cast-iron bell at the
little church. It was prayer-meeting night.
After a while he left the main road, and without any reason at all for
so doing, he plunged into the tangle of laurel, rhododendron bushes,
vines, and briers. The soles of his shoes had become slick on the
pine-needles and heather, and he slipped and fell several times, but he
rose and struggled on. Then he saw the bare brown cliff of a great
canyon over the tops of the trees, and suddenly realizing the distance
he had come he turned and walked homeward.
He found the Bradley house wrapped in darkness. He could hear Luke
snoring out to the gate. He went round the house to the back door. It
was unlocked, and he slipped in and gained his own room. Without
undressing he threw himself on the bed and tried to sleep, but the
attempt was vain.
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