Odor of pine needles mingled with the other dry smells that made the wind pleasant to Jean.

In an hour from the first line of pines he had ridden beyond the cedars and pinyons into a slowly thickening and deepening forest.

Underbrush appeared scarce except in ravines, and the ground in open patches held a bleached grass.

Jean's eye roved for sight of squirrels, birds, deer, or any moving creature.
It appeared to be a dry, uninhabited forest.

About midday Jean halted at a pond of surface water, evidently melted snow, and gave his animals a drink.