The swarm of gnats, flies, and mosquitoes assailed him again and he could have cried out in pain.

His only consolation lay in the fact that the other man might be suffering just as much.
He was aware that his enemy might try a circling movement in order to reach him on the flank or from behind, but he believed that his ear would be keen enough to detect him if he came near.

Moreover he lay in a slight dip with the body of the horse in front of him, and it would require an uncommon sharpshooter to reach him with a bullet.

If he could only stand those terrible mosquitoes an hour he felt that he might get away, because then the night would be at hand.
He saw with immense relief that the sun was already very low.

The heat, gathered in the woods, was at its worst, and over his head the mosquitoes buzzed and buzzed incessantly.