hey would feel at not seeing Leo. "But perhaps," said
Natty, "they have gone in search of him, and discovered him and brought
him back, and we shall find him all well; oh, how joyful that will be!"
As we reached the hill I could not resist the temptation of firing off
my rifle, to attract the attention of our friends, and give them notice
of our coming. No one, however, appeared; still I was sure they must
have heard the report. We wound our way up the hill, when we came to a
point where I expected to see the huts; but no trace of them could I
discover. The grass was green from the recent rains; the trees waved on
the hill-side as before; but the huts, the habitations of our friends,
where were they? I shouted out, but no answer came. My heart sank
within me. I could no longer restrain my anxiety, and telling Natty to
follow slowly, I rushed up the hill. There, on the spot where the huts
had stood, were heaps of charred timber. I felt faint and sick! What
had become of our friends! I scarcely dared to search about, lest I
might find some dreadful traces of their death. Oh no, no! It is
impossible! The dear, energetic, gentle Kate--such could not have been
her fate! And sweet little Bella too! Still, I could not resist the
temptation to search about. There were no traces of human beings. I
saw, too, by the way the grass had sprung up, that some time must have
passed since the fire took place. I roused myself as I saw Natty
approaching. I was afraid of what the effect might be on him, and
hurried down the hill to prepare him for the scene; indeed, I thought it
might be better to turn the zebra's head, and let him proceed down the
mountain again. Still, I did not like to leave the spot without a
further examination.

"I should like to look at it," said Natty, when I told him. "I cannot
believe that they are lost; and perhaps by an examination we may
discover something to guide us in our future proceedings."

The little zebra did not object to come up the hill, but when he reached
the black spot where the house had stood, he stopped, gazing at it, and
I thought trembled.

"It seems to me," said Natty, after remaining silent for a minute or
two, "that the zebra must have made his escape when the huts were on
fire, and the other animals were set free. Oh! I do--I do hope that
our friends escaped! I will not believe that they did not!"

I would not let Natty quit the zebra, but allowed him to sit do