They were traveling at the Rangers’ forced march pace—forty minutes in the saddle, riding at a steady canter, then twenty minutes on foot, leading the horses and allowing them to travel unburdened, while the men ran at a steady trot. Every four hours, they would pause for one hour’s rest, when they ate a quick meal of dried meat, hard bread and fruit, then rolled into their cloaks to sleep. They had been leading the horses for some time now and Halt judged that it was time to rest. He led Abelard off the road and into the shelter of a grove of trees. Will and Gilan followed, dropping the reins
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