He had hardly started, however, before he realized the difficulty which faced him.

In his eagerness he had wandered far past the ravines which were known to him, and it was no easy matter to pick out the path which he had taken.

The valley in which he found himself divided and sub-divided into many gorges, which were so like each other that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other.
He followed one for a mile or more until he came to a mountain torrent which he was sure that he had never seen before.

Convinced that he had taken the wrong turn, he tried another, but with the same result.

Night was coming on rapidly, and it was almost dark before he at last found himself in a defile which was familiar to him.