In case matters were unchanged, she intended to tell her friend the occurrence of the day, giving her at the same time directions for the future.
Shotaye quickened her step, for the road was long.

It was not advisable to return by the trail she had taken in coming, for she needed a pretext for running into the abode of Say Koitza as if by chance.

At last she noticed the change in the weather and the approaching shower, and thought it a good plan to regulate her gait so as to reach the valley and the big house when the storm broke.

She might then seek shelter under her friend's roof and avoid suspicion.
Crashing thunder roared in the high Sierra, and as Shotaye looked around she saw the rain-streaks that swept down on the mesas in advance of the shower.

The Sierra de la Jara had vanished in the clouds, and gray fleeces whirled about the flanks of the Sierra de San Miguel.