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“I don’t suppose there’s any way of arguing for going back to our nice, safe hotel and picking this up tomorrow?” Leonid asked “You have the waypoints”

“We’re on the hunt now, ,” Sa the discussion

The strearavel was at first a welcome relief from the endless mud of the trails, but after a short time it proved the more difficult path as the slope steepened After an hour of hiking along the bank, the strea to their left, the other to their right They stopped and eyed the two choices Sam turned to Leonid “Which do you like?”

“Neither”

“Coood sport”

They waited while Leonid studied the two branches, and he eventually grunted and pointed at the one on the right “That goes more eastward”

“Well, there you have it,” Remi said “But perhaps now it’s more obvious why the colonel didn’t simply write ‘Follow the stream’”

After a brief rest, Sa the strea to sink into the trees behind them when they arrived at the base of a steep expanse of sheer rock that the streah They stopped to catch their breaths, and Sam looked up into the mist

“No way they cli path here”

Re heavy crates They must have followed the other branch”

Sam looked to the sky “We should be able to make it back to where it forked before dark We can set up ca and take this up tomorrow”

Lazlo eyed Leonid “No sha, old boy Happens to the best of us”

“That’s why I try to avoid guessing about anything important”

They h ti fire was out of the questi

on, given the waterlogged soil and y bars, electrolyte-replacehostly glow frohts