Chapter Sixteen
In The WildernessThe morning arrived, dim and gray, and Joshua stirred in his hiding place. Around him, a gray fog drifted slowly through the woods, and the trees were scarcely visible, even a few yards away. The heavy mist damped down every sound and even the birds seemed reluctant to begin their morning melodies. The only noise was the steady drip of moisture from the shrouded trees. The night wind had passed, leaving a cold, stagnant breath lingering in the eaves of the forest, and Joshua shivered in the chill morning air. The heavy dew demanded that he risk a small fire to dry his clothes so he cautiously left the thicket to look for some dry wood. A few yards away, a large pine had fallen and begun the slow return to the soil of the forest. He rolled it over. Reaching
