He was up again before daylight, and, after a hasty meal, pressed on.

The nature of the country had changed considerably, becoming more broken, the view circumscribed by towering cliffs and deep ravines.

Hampton swung forward his field-glasses, and, from the summit of every eminence, studied the topography of the country lying beyond.

He must see before being seen, and he believed he could not now be many miles in the rear of Murphy.
Late in the afternoon he reined up his horse and gazed forward into a broad valley, bounded with precipitous bluffs.

The trail, now scarcely perceptible, led directly down, winding about like some huge snake, across the lower level, toward where a considerable stream of water shone silvery in the sun, half concealed behind a fringe of willows.
Beyond doubt this was the Belle Fourche.