   Macintosh kept going forward. Was the smell of smoke getting stronger? Given how the day has been so far, he chose be optimistic and decided that was the case. As he stopped momentarily to get a fix on the smell, there was a rustling sound and the forest sounds suddenly cut off like a candle had been blown out, replaced by a growl, like the one he'd heard upon losing his saddlebag, though this one was quieter. And closer.