If she turned back for any cause he would be worried, and, what concerned her more vitally, he would think she had not the courage to face a little dust.

So Carley rode on.
The wind appeared to be gusty.

It would blow hard awhile, then lull for a few moments.

On the whole, however, it increased in volume and persistence until she was riding against a gale.

She had now come to a bare, flat, gravelly region, scant of cedars and brush, and far ahead she could see a dull yellow pall rising high into the sky.