"There's volume to that.

I wonder if it's the stream I lost." The roar bothered him, for he could hear nothing else.

Likewise, however, no rustlers could hear him.

Emboldened by this and sure that nothing but a bird could see him, he arose from his hands and knees to hurry on.

An opening in the pinyons warned him that he was nearing the height of slope.
He gained it, and dropped low with a burst of astonishment.