must have turned
this thought over in his mind a thousand times during his descent of the
bank.

His progress was so rapid that he could tell nothing of the objects he
passed nor how long he was in descending, the only thing that was
definite being the fact that the creek lay below and he might or might
not be thrown into it.

At last when it seemed as if he must have slid a thousand feet or more,
although it was much less than that distance, he was suddenly brought up
sharply by his feet striking a great mass of moss, decayed wood and rich
loam at the foot of a short stump almost on the brink of the roaring
creek tumbling over the rocks in its bed.

He was thrown half across this stump by the violence of the contact but
quickly realized that he was not hurt although nearly out of breath and
with a rapidly beating heart.

His coat was about his neck, he had no hat, his shoes were badly scraped
and his trousers had many holes in them but he was alive and evidently
not seriously bruised or scratched by his rapid slide over the rough
ground and coarse grass.

But for his having been stopped by the stump he would have gone into the
water which at this point was right up to the bank.

Standing up and arranging his clothing as much as was possible at the
moment, he took a deep breath or two and looked about him.

At a short distance there was a rude path along the water's edge wide
enough for him to make his way, here and there obstructed by stones or
bushes but wide enough for him to walk on.

There was clearly no use in trying to reach the top of the ravine by
climbing and he might by following the path come to the bridge over
which he and Dick had crossed two days before.

He had no idea how far it was to the station for he could see nothing
but the woods and the ravine and the brook and he set off, therefore,
with no idea how far he would have to go or what obstacles might be in
his way.

Walking on along the tumbling brook, now having to descend at a
considerable angle where the path was just wide enough for his feet, now
having to make his way through tangled bushes, now scrambling over rough
stones and occasionally being turned aside by great thickets of briar
but still keeping the water in sight he at length came to a point whence
he could see the bridge ahead of him.

He judged that he must have gone nearly half a mile although the
difficulties of the way made it seem like five.

The bridge was still