been pursued and hard
pressed, and had taken to the mountains, in the hope of making his
escape, before he had been able to replenish his stock of ammunition.
Perhaps he intended to pay us another visit. However, conjectures on
the subject must be fruitless; only, it shows us that if he could get as
far as the place where he died, we, in good health and strength, may
hope to make our way over the ground, rough as it may be, till we can
find water and food."

We thus kept up our spirits with the anticipation of soon getting out of
our difficulty. Still, in the aspect of the country there was nothing
to encourage us. Except when we were traversing a gorge or narrow
valley, the air was pure and exhilarating, and gave strength to our
muscles; but they were pretty well tried, I must confess.

I was gratified by the remarks Mudge made to me. "You get on capitally,
Godfrey," he said. "I haven't heard a grumble come out of your mouth,
and you look cheerfully at the bright side of things. It is the best
plan for making your way through the world; of that I am convinced,
though I haven't always followed it. But stick you to it, lad. You
will, I hope, be actuated by a higher motive; that is, to put your trust
in God's love and mercy. Whatever occurs, he has promised to look after
those who honestly trust him. I say honestly, for he won't have any
half-and-half trust. I don't think we should expect that he will attend
to the cries of those who forget him when they think themselves safe and
prosperous, and only pray for help when they are in trouble. I have
often thought on that subject, and have tried to say my prayers all the
more heartily when things have been going smoothly and pleasantly with
me."

I agreed with Mudge, and told him that I would try to remember his
advice. We talked on this and on many other subjects when the ground
would allow of our walking abreast; but sometimes I had to walk behind
him, while he pioneered the way, and more frequently we could only think
of the road and the means of getting along it. There was, indeed, as
may be supposed, very little plain sailing; but then we had time enough
to talk when we were encamped.

We had seen a ridge before us which we hoped would prove the highest we
should have to cross, and that afterwards we should find ourselves
descending gradually into the plains to the southward. Our great aim
was to get over it some time before dark, so that we might gain