Steve kept his eyes on the ground as he walked along the edge of the marsh. He was but fifty yards from the walls when he came to an abrupt halt. Quickly he dropped to his knees, running his hands over the soft earth. He had found Flame’s hoofprints and they led straight into the marsh!

He hesitated a moment and thought of waiting for the vapors to subside. They were probably at their worst in the sun’s first rays. Perhaps when Flame had entered the marsh last night there had been none at all. But why even think about that! He was on the track of the red stallion and perhaps too close to him already to delay his search any longer than was absolutely necessary. Holding his breath, Steve plunged into the gray, cloudlike world.

Within the marsh, he saw a slimy wilderness of high reeds and swamp ferns dotted with many small black pools and broken only by long, green, narrow avenues of what was comparatively solid ground. It was down these strips of green that Flame’s trail led. Steve followed them cautiously. The vapors weren’t as dense as he had expected, but the stench, when he finally had to breathe, was almost more than he could stand. Yet he kept on, encouraged by the evidence before him that the red stallion had gone on ahead and that the vapors were thinning in the direction he was traveling.

Flame’s trail zigzagged with the green strips, but Steve knew from the gradual rise of the land that he was going toward the walls. He never relaxed his vigil as he walked along slowly, treading carefully over the ground. Quagmires, heavy with sucking, all-engulfing quicksand, were on each side of him. That Flame had passed over this same route did not make Steve less cautious. And as he went farther along, he was certain that Flame knew his way very well. There had been no hesitancy or break in the stallion’s stride, for his hoofprints were regular and long enough for a slow gallop.

In a little while the vapors dwindled to mere wisps and the ground grew more and more solid beneath Steve’s feet. The pull upward became more abrupt and as the air cleared, feeling almost fresh again, Steve breathed deeply and walked faster.

At last he was completely free of the marsh, and he stopped abruptly, astounded by what he saw ahead of him. On either side were the high yellow cliffs and before him a long, steep channel penetrating deeply within the walls! Flame’s hoofprints were no longer visible on the hard ground, but Steve had no doubt that the stallion had gone on ahead.