t was making for what seemed to
be the edge of another stream which issued from a patch of woodland on
its way to the main torrent.

"I must get him here if I can," thought Pen, for the roar of the falling
waters was subdued into a gentle murmur, and to his surprise he caught
sight of a shed-like building amongst the trees, fenced in by piled-up
pieces of stone evidently taken from the smaller stream which he
approached; and it was plain that this was the spot for which the goat
had been making.

The young rifleman stopped short, trying to make out whether the place
was inhabited; but he could see no sign save that the goat was making
for the stone fence, on to which the active beast leaped, balanced
itself carefully for a few moments, and then sprang down on the other
side, to be greeted by a burst of bleating that came from apparently two
of its kind within.

Pen stood screened by the trees for a time, fully expecting to see some
occupant of the hut make his appearance; but the bleating ceased
directly, and, approaching carefully, the young private stood at last by
the rough stone wall, looking down on a scene which fully explained the
reason for the goat's visit.

She had returned to her kids; and after climbing the wall a very little
search showed the visitor that the goat and her young ones were the sole
occupants of the deserted place.

It was the rough home of a peasant who had apparently forsaken it upon
the approach of the French soldiery. Everything was of the simplest
kind; but situated as Pen Gray was it presented itself in a palatial
guise, for there was everything that he could wish for at a time like
that.

As before said, it was a shed-like structure; but there was bed and
fireplace, a pile of wood outside the door, and, above all, a roof to
cover those who sought shelter.

"Yes, I must bring him here somehow," thought Pen as he caught sight of
a cleanly scrubbed pail and a tin or two hanging upon nails in the wall.
But he saw far more than this, for his senses were sharpened by hunger;
and with a smile of satisfaction he hurried out, noting as he passed
them that the kids, keen of appetite, were satisfying their desire for
food; and, hurrying onwards, he made his way back to where he had left
his companion lying in the dry, sandy patch of shingle; and some hours
of that forenoon were taken up in the painful task of bearing the
wounded lad by slow degrees to where, after much painful effort, th