ng on her bonnet, set off by herself in the
direction of the woods. Where she was going she did not
know,--somewhere, anywhere, to search for her lost boy!

The blind wood paths puzzled Louisa more than they had puzzled Archie in
the morning; for she wanted to keep her way, which he did not. She lost
it, however, continually. Her eyes were scratched by boughs and
brambles, the tree roots tripped her up, her dress caught in a briar and
was torn. "Archie! Archie!" she cried, as she went along. Her voice came
back from the forest in strange echoing tones which made her start. At
last, after winding and turning for a long time, she found herself again
upon the main path, not far from the place where she had entered the
wood. She was hot, tired, and breathless; her voice was hoarse with
crying and calling. "I'll wait here awhile," she thought. "Perhaps the
blessed little dear'll come this way; but, whether he does or not, I'm
too tired to move another step till I've had some rest." She found a
smooth place under an oak, sat down, and leaned her back against the
stem.

"Cheep, cheep, chickeree," sang one bird to another. "What a stupid girl
that is! I could tell her which way to go. Why, there's the mark of his
big foot on the moss close by. Why doesn't she see it and follow? Cheep,
cheep."

"Cluck, cluck, whirr, whillahu," sang the other bird. "Human beings are
_too_ stupid."

Poor stupid Louisa, her eyes blurred with tears, did not heed the birds'
songs or understand those plain directions for finding Archie which they
were so ready to give. The tree trunk felt comfortable against her back.
The air came cool and spicy from the wood depths to steal the smart from
her hot face. The rustle of the leaves was pleasant in her ear. So the
faithful maid waited.

Mr. Gray meantime had tracked Archie for a little way by the traces of
his small feet on the dewy grass. Then the marks became too confused to
help him longer; he lost the track, and, after a long and weary walk,
found himself on the far side of the wood, near a little village. There
he hired a wagon, and drove home; resolving to rouse the neighbors, and
give the wood a thorough search, even should it keep them out all night.

While he was bargaining for his wagon in the distant village, Archie, in
the midst of his nest of moss, was waking up. He had slept three hours,
and so soundly that, at first arousing, he could not in the least
remember where he was. He rubbed