"He can't be there," he said aloud. But yet he knew that he could
not turn back till he had satisfied himself on this point. So,
with a word of encouragement to Diamond, he splashed onwards.
Again the lightning flared torchlike through the gloom, but the
thunder of the torrent drowned the thunder overhead. He was
nearing the hut now, and found that in places the rain had so
beaten down the sandy surface of the ground that it sank and
yielded like a quagmire. He knew that it was only a matter of
minutes--possibly seconds--before the crumbling bank above the
stream gave way.
He was close to the hut now, though still he assured himself that
the place was empty. The roar of the water was deafening, seeming
to numb the senses. He never knew afterwards whether a light
suddenly kindled as he drew near behind the canvas that screened
the hut-window, or if it had been there all along and the leaping
elusive lightning had blinded him to it. But the light was there
before him as he reached the place, and in a moment the knowledge
flashed upon him beyond all questioning that he had not come upon a
vain quest.
He knew also with that menacing roar below him and the streaming
rain around that there was not a moment to be lost. He swung
himself from Diamond's back and secured the bridle to a projecting
piece of wood at the back of the hut.
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