His breath was easy and regular and his steps were long and swift.

His guide was before him.

Whatever his pace, whether fast or slow, the distance between them never seemed to change.

The bird would dart aside, perhaps to catch an insect, but it always returned promptly to its course.
His eyes caught a gleam of silver from the crest of the fourth ridge that he crossed, and he knew it was a ray of sunlight striking upon the waters of the lake.

Now his coveted haven was not so far away, and the great pulses in his temples throbbed.