Then he saw that he had taken the right route, for the valley opened up with another creek coming in to join the one they had been following. For several minutes Bill was busy banking the plane in one direction or another to miss the tree-covered sides of the ravine through which they were flying. The rain continued to fall in torrents. There was one consolation: the forest fires would surely be quenched by this downpour. That thought was consoling, but it did not help Bill in his present situation. He did not know how much longer he could continue to see the ridges ahead sufficiently far to miss them with the plane. He hoped that the rain would cease, the clouds would raise or an open space large enough to land the plan would make its appearance while he still had control of the plane.