sir!" cried Jakobsen suddenly from where he stood by a big
mass of rock.

"Yes! what is it?" cried the captain; and he stepped toward the man,
followed by the others, to where Jakobsen pointed down to a ring of
stones, within which was a quantity of dry, heathery stuff with a number
of weather-worn lumps of coal.

"No mistake about his having been here," said the doctor, taking out a
box of matches, which, to his astonishment, was snatched from his
fingers by Watty, who dropped upon his knees, struck and shaded a match,
applied it to the light stuff, which blazed up at once, and then began
to fan it with his bonnet in one hand, as he kept on adding little bits
of coal with the other.

"She'll soon have a ferry pig fire," said Watty, "and she'd petter get
ta steaks retty to frizzle. She can cook peautifully the noo."

This was to Jakobsen, who nodded, drew his knife, and began to cut off a
haunch from one of the deer, for Johannes was looking about uneasily.

"See anything of him, my man?" said the captain.

"No, sir. He must be gathering coal together to help the fire; but I've
been down both these rifts, and he is not there."

"It's very strange," said the captain uneasily. "So unlike him to rush
off in that way."

"He was thinking of our comfort, sir," said Johannes gravely; "and how
good it would be for us to find a fire ready."

"He must be about here somewhere," said the captain. "Shout, will you?"

Johannes made the rocks echo again and again, but the only effect was
the starting of the owl into flight till the cries and their echoes
ceased, when it settled once more high up the mountain-side.

There were several narrow, gully-like places within reach, up either of
which the boy might have gone, and the question arose as to the reason
for his so doing.

"He would not have gone seeking for coal," said the doctor, "because
there is plenty here."

"I'm thinking, sir," said the Norseman, "that he had no matches, and has
gone to seek for a stone to use with his knife to strike a light. There
can be no other reason."

"Then he will be back directly," said the captain. "There, leave them
to cook; I am uneasy about him. Let's search those places a little
farther off. We'll take that one, Handscombe; you the other, Johannes."

They all then started off as the fire burned up, and spread quite a
cloud of black smoke overhead; and the Norseman had barely reached the
mouth of the ravine which he was