er?"

"We must be a mile off from Tim, and it will be dark before we can get
back."

"O! I think not. You know we have walked very slowly, and we can hurry
when we take it into our heads to return."

"But do you know the way?"

"Certainly. Don't you?"

"What course must we follow?"

Elwood pointed to the northwest, which, while it was not far from their
general course, was by no means the proper one by which to rejoin their
companion.

"How strange!" said Howard. "It seems to me that yonder is the point
from which we started."

And _he_ pointed nearly due west, just as wrong as he could possibly be.

"You are wrong," said Elwood positively. "I am sure of the right way."

"We won't dispute over it," replied his companion, with some sadness,
"for it is very doubtful if either of us is right."

"All we have to do then, is to hunt for the river and follow that up
until we find Tim sound asleep."

"Yea; but how is the river to be found? To you it lies in one place, and
to me in another."

"But I can prove that you are wrong, and," laughed Elwood, "that I am,
too, although I was never right."

"How so?"

"The sun sets in the west, and notice where it is."

Howard now opened his eyes in amazement. He would have been sure that it
was going down in the other part of the sky; but the proof before his
eyes was irrefragable.

"It must be," he replied. "We have been 'turned round.' Just as when we
left the wharf at New York. I was below when the steamer came out, and
so long as New York was in sight I was sure it lay in the wrong place."

"But, how bad even that makes it! We cannot reach the river before dark,
and we shall not know whether we am a mile above or below where Tim is
sleeping."

"If we go straight for the river, I think it likely that we shall come
much nearer him than that."

"It may be, but how are we to tell?"

"Why, if we don't find him by night, we can fire oft our guns and call
to him."

"And bring a party of the savages down upon us."

"That may be if there are any in the neighborhood, but we shall have to
run the risk."

By this time the boys were fully impressed with their want of discretion
and with the urgent necessity of making all haste back to the river.

"Let us keep our thoughts about us," said Howard, "for we have been
without them long enough. Now, the Salinas River runs very nearly north
and south, doesn't it?"

"This portion of it does."

"Then we must go as near