soon as Sidney could be removed with safety, which
they had hopes of being soon, as he was rapidly gaining strength. The
broken bones were in a fair way to join, and the wounds to heal.

The nights were becoming cool, and as the time flew by, they became
anxious to remove from their dangerous position, as well as to be on
their journey in order to find their way out of the forest before the
winter set in. Without tools to work with, or weapons to defend
themselves, or proper clothing, they quailed at the thought of being
caught by the frost and snow in the mountains. But Sidney did not
recover his strength very fast, and they put off their departure day
after day on his account, after they had first set the time to start,
until two weeks had now elapsed when they crossed the small stream and
began to ascend the mountain. It was slow work, and at night they
encamped on the summit, where no water could be had, instead of
descending it, as they in the morning had calculated. That night Sidney
was unable to sleep, and moaned until daylight. After breakfasting they
began to descend; he insisted he was quite able to go, but the rest saw
it was too great an exertion for him. To remain on the mountain they
could not; to return to the place they had left was impossible. There
was no other alternative but to go on. The chief on one side and the
trapper on the other, he was half carried most of the distance; a
little after the middle of the day they reached the foot of the
mountains, and found themselves in a beautiful valley, along which ran
a clear stream about a quarter of a mile from the base of the mountain.

Their first thought was to build a couch for Sidney, who had lain down
on the ground with his head on a pile of leaves for a pillow. They
could not shut their eyes to the reality that he was really quite ill
again. Selecting a spot favorable for building a couch, they had one
soon completed, on which he was laid, and a temporary cover of hemlock
boughs and bark was thrown over it. They then commenced preparations
for supper. That night they were unmolested by wild beasts, which
augured well for their selection of a good ground to encamp on.

The next morning Sidney was much worse, and a cold, drizzling rain
having set in during the night, drove them all under the shelter
through the day, and even sent the goat and her kid, who had become
very tame, bleating to their side. As the day advanced the storm became
more furi