There was comfort in the reflection, because the miles would melt behind them at the pace they travelled at.

That was so long as the stream flowed straight and even, but he did not care to contemplate what would happen if it foamed over any obstacle.
For a time he saw nothing but froth and spray and flitting stone, and then the roar that came back from the towering walls swelled into a great diapason terrifying and bewildering.

Seaforth glanced over his shoulder and saw that Okanagan was dipping his paddle.
"A fall or a big rapid.

We've got to go through," he said.
Seaforth swept his gaze aloft for a moment while the bewildering roar grew deafening.

Nothing that had life in it could scale the horrible smooth walls that hung over them, and through a rift in the vapour he could see a filigree of whitened pines that seemed very far away projected against the blue.