d Paul.

"Maybe so," replied Henry. "We've got to wait anyhow. Let's go home."

They started back for Wareville, keeping close together, lest they lose
each other in the darkness, and they realized suddenly that they were
uncomfortable. The rain was coming in such sheets directly in their
faces that it half blinded them, now and then their feet sank deep in
mire and their drenched bodies began to grow cold. The little log houses
in which they lived now seemed to them palaces, fit for a king, and they
hastened their footsteps, often tripping on vines or running into
bushes. But Henry was trying to see through the dark woods.

"We ought to be near the clearing," he said.

They stopped and looked all about, seeking to see a light. They knew
that one would be shining from the tower of the blockhouse as a guide to
them. But they saw none. They had misjudged the distance, so they
thought, and they pushed on a half hour longer, but there was still no
light, nor did they come to a clearing. Then they paused. Dark as it was
each saw a look of dismay on the face of the other.

"We've come the wrong way!" exclaimed Paul.

"Maybe we have," reluctantly admitted Henry.

But their dismay lasted only a little while. They were strong boys, used
to the wilderness, and they did not fear even darkness and wandering
through the woods. Moreover, they were sure that they should find
Wareville long before midnight.

They changed their course and continued the search. The rain ceased by
and by, the clouds left the heavens, and the moon came out, but they saw
nothing familiar about them. The great woods were dripping with water,
and it was the only sound they heard, besides that made by themselves.
They stopped again, worn out and disconsolate at last. All their walking
only served to confuse them the more. Neither now had any idea of the
direction in which Wareville lay, and to be lost in the wilderness was a
most desperate matter. They might travel a thousand miles, should
strength last them for so great a journey, and never see a single human
being. They leaned against the rough bark of a great oak tree, and
stared blankly at each other.

"What are we to do?" asked Paul.

"I can't say," replied Henry.

The two boys still looked blank, but at last they laughed--and each
laughed at the other's grewsome face. Then they began once more to cast
about them. The cold had passed and warm winds were blowing up from the
south. The forest w