(1) The fatigued cowboys scoured the countryside from hill to valley. (2) _______, there were no signs of the lost cows anywhere
. (3) It had taken the cowboys days to hunt down a possible trail for the cows. (4) The track marks that they could find were barely visible. (5) The dust and wind picked up across the plains. (6) This was troubling for the cowboys. (7) They needed to find the cows before sundown because there was no way these animals could survive in this dust storm. (8) The cowboys steadily moved forward. Choose the sentence that best combines sentences 4 and 5.
A.
The track marks that they could find were barely visible. Indeed, the dust and wind picked up across the plains.
B.
The track marks that they could find were barely visible since the dust and wind picked up across the plains.
C.
The track marks that they could find were barely visible. On the whole, the dust and wind picked up across the plains.
D.
The track marks that they could find were barely visible; after, the dust and wind picked up across the plains.
