His huge figure seemed to blend with the earth, and he crept forward among the thorny bushes with amazing skill.
He was like some large animal, trained for countless generations to slip through thickets.

Ned, just behind him, could hear only the faintest noise, and the bushes moved so little that one, not knowing, might have credited it to the wind.
The boy had the advantage of following in the path made by the man's larger figure, and he, too, was successful in making no sound.

But he could hear the stamp of horses' feet clearly now, and both to left and right he caught glimpses of them tethered in the thickets.

His comrade stopped at last.

They were not more than a hundred yards from the fire now, and the space in front of them was mostly open.