r. It is far away
and sounds among the hills behind, as though it had labored up from some
cave or chasm miles distant. Howard held his breath, and as he
anticipated, it came again so faintly and distantly that had he been
walking he could not have heard it.

On both occasions it sounded behind him among the hills, though its
tremulous faintness made it appear as though it came from far up in the
air, or down deep in some of the gorges of the hills--so uncertain was
the exact point of its starting.

Poor Howard was now in a dilemma. Whether to attempt to follow up the
signal or to go on to the river and search out Tim O'Rooney and the
Newfoundland was a question which was difficult to decide. But his
eagerness to find his cousin led him on into the hills, until he had
penetrated quite a distance. He then paused and listened for the signal,
but none was ever to come to his ears again.

Howard repeated the whistle over and over, and finally fired his gun;
but both were equally fruitless. He waited where he was until dark, when
with a sad heart he withdrew and resumed his tramp toward the river.
Gloomy indeed were his meditations, as he reflected on the occurrences
of the day, and there was scarcely anything he would not do, if by any
means he could recall _his_ part since he landed upon the main shore.

In the course of half an hour he reached the river, and looked intently
out into the semi-darkness to see whether he could recognize anything
familiar; but so far as he was able to see, all was strange, from which
he concluded that he had struck at a point lower down than where Tim had
been left.

He therefore began making his way south, that is, toward the source of
the river, after halting and listening for some sound that might tell
something either of Tim or Elwood. Suddenly a threatening growl startled
him, and then came the welcome bark of Terror, and the next moment the
dog was frolicking around him and showing his delight in the most
extravagant manner.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

WAITING AND WATCHING.

"Worrah! worrah! but this is a fine scare you've been givin' Tim
O'Rooney, so me uncle said whin they towld him his wife was coming over
to Ameriky to see him. Here I've been awake fur the last two hours,
jist, looking and expacting you to come back, and thinking the red
colored gintleman had carried you away entirely----"

Howard impatiently interrupted him.

"Have you seen or heard anything of Elwood?"