nife inside.

"That's what I carries, sir, in these times, and you ought to carry
ditto, and a brace of barkers besides. We shan't get back to the
Captain's to-night."

We were rising on the first shoulder of Mirngish, and daylight was
rapidly departing. I looked back. Nothing but a vast sea of fog, one
snow peak rising from it like an iceberg from a frozen sea, piercing
the clear frosy air like a crystal of lead and silver.

"We must hurry on," I said, "or we shall never have daylight to find
the bracelet. We shall never find our way home through that fog,
without a breath of wind to guide us. What shall we do?"

"I noticed to-day, sir," said Dick, "a track that crossed the hill to
the east; if we can get on that, and keep on it, we are sure to get
somewhere. It would be better to follow that than go blundering across
the plain through such a mist as that."

As he was speaking, we had dismounted and commenced our search. In five
minutes, so well did our recollection serve us, Dick had got the
bracelet, and, having mounted our horses, we deliberated what was next
to be done.

A thick fog covered the whole country, and was rapidly creeping up to
the elevation on which we stood. To get home over the plains without a
compass seemed a hopeless matter. So we determined to strike for the
track which Dick had noticed in the morning, and get on it before it
was dark.

We plunged down into the sea of fog, and, by carefully keeping the same
direction, we found our road. The moon was nearly full, which enabled
us to distinguish it, though we could never see above five yards in
front of us.

We followed the road above an hour; then we began to see ghostly
tree-stems through the mist. They grew thicker and more frequent. Then
we saw a light, and at last rode up to a hut-door, cheered by the warm
light, emanating from a roaring fire within, which poured through every
crack in the house-side, and made the very fog look warm.

I held Dick's horse while he knocked. The door was opened by a wee
feeble old man, about sixty, with a sharp clever face, and an iron-grey
rough head of hair.

"Night, daddy," said Dick. "Can me and my master stay here to-night?
We're all abroad in this fog. The governor will leave something
handsome behind in the morning, old party, I know." (This latter was in
a whisper.)

"Canst thou stay here, say'st thou?" replied the old fellow. "In course
thou canst. But thy master's money may bide in a's po