l state of Mrs. Weldon and her
little Jack, this mode of traveling would be the most suitable. Arms
would not fail to carry the sick child. Lacking Harris's horse, they
could even make a litter of branches, on which Mrs. Weldon could be
borne. But this would require two men out of five, and Dick Sand
wished, with good reason, that all his companions might be free in
their movements in case of a sudden attack.

And then, in descending the current of a river, the young novice would
find himself in his element!

The question now was, whether a navigable stream of water existed in
the neighborhood. Dick Sand thought it probable, and for this reason:
The river which emptied into the Atlantic at the place where the
"Pilgrim" had stranded could not ascend much to the north, nor much to
the east, of the province, because a chain of mountains quite close to
them--those which they had mistaken for the Cordilleras--shut in the
horizon on these two sides. Then, either the river descended from
these heights, or it made a bend toward the south, and, in these two
cases, Dick Sand could not take long to find the course. Perhaps, even
before reaching the river--for it had a right to this qualification,
being a direct tributary of the ocean--one of its affluents would be
met with which would suffice for the transport of the little party.

At any rate, a stream of some sort could not be far away.

In fact, during the last miles of the journey the nature of the earth
had been modified. The declivities diminished and became damp. Here
and there ran narrow streams, which indicated that the sub-soil
enclosed everywhere a watery network. During the last day's march the
caravan had kept along one of these rivulets, whose waters, reddened
with oxyde of iron, eat away its steep, worn banks. To find it again
could not take long, or be very difficult. Evidently they could not
descend its impetuous course, but it would be easy to follow it to its
junction with a more considerable, possibly a navigable, affluent.

Such was the very simple plan which Dick Sand determined upon, after
having conferred with old Tom.

Day came, all their companions gradually awoke. Mrs. Weldon placed
little Jack in Nan's arms. The child was drowsy and faded-looking
during the intermittent periods, and was sad to see.

Mrs. Weldon approached Dick Sand. "Dick," she asked, after a steady
glance, "where is Harris? I do not perceive him."

The young novice thought tha