ROD'S FIGHT FOR LIFE It was some time before Roderick moved from his concealment behind the rock.

It was not fear that held him there, but a knowledge within him that he needed to think, to collect his senses as he would have expressed it if Wabi had been with him.

For a brief spell he was stunned by the succession of surprises which he had encountered, and he felt that now, if ever in his life, he needed control of himself.
He did not attempt to solve the mystery of the trail beyond the fact that it was not made by a bear and that the handprint on the log was not made by a man.

But he was certain of one thing.

In some way Minnetaki was associated with both.
When he continued his pursuit he made his way with extreme caution.