Kazan and the sledge became only a dark blotch to her.

And then, all at once, she saw that they were leaving her.

They were not more than twenty feet ahead of her--but the blotch seemed to be a vast distance away.

Every bit of life and strength in her body was now bent upon reaching the sledge--and baby Joan.
It seemed an interminable time before she gained.

With the sledge only six feet ahead of her she struggled for what seemed to her to be an hour before she could reach out and touch it.