loom, and perceived the glimmer of mingled daylight and firelight that
shone in at the entrance.

"Luk a dar! luk a dar!" said Cudjo.

And turning their eyes in the opposite direction, they saw a faint
golden glow in the recesses of the cave. The footsteps approached; the
glow increased; then the superb dark form of Pomp advanced in the light
of his own torch. Penn hastened to meet him, and to demand tidings of
Stackridge's party.

Pomp first saluted Virginia, with somewhat lofty politeness, holding the
torch above his head as he bowed. Then turning to Penn,--

"Your friends are all safe, I believe."

"All?" Penn eagerly asked, his thoughts on the luckless horseman. "None
missing?"

"There were three absent when I reached their camp. They had gone on a
foraging expedition. I found the rest waiting for them, standing their
ground against the fire, which was roaring up towards them at a
tremendous rate. Soon the foragers came in. They brought a basket of
potatoes and a bag of meal, but no meat. Withers had caught a pig, but
it had got away from him before he could kill it, and he lost it in the
dark. The others were cursing the rascals who had set the woods afire,
but Withers lamented the pig.

"'Gentlemen,' said I, 'you have not much time to mourn either for the
woods or the pork. We must take care of ourselves.' And I offered to
bring them here. But just then we heard a rushing noise; it sounded like
some animal coming up the course of the brook; and the next minute it
was amongst us--a big black bear, frightened out of his wits, singed by
the fire, and furious."

"Your acquaintance of the gorge, Virginia!" said Penn.

"You will readily believe that such an unexpected supply of fresh meat,
sent by Providence within their reach, proved a temptation to the
hungry. Withers, in his hurry to make up for the loss of the pig, ran to
head the fellow off, and attempted to stop him with his musket after it
had missed fire. In an instant the gun was lying on the ground several
yards off, and Withers was sprawling. The bear had done the little
business for him with a single stroke of his paw; then he passed on,
directly over Withers's body, which happened to be in his way, but which
he minded no more than as if it had been a bundle of rags. All this time
we couldn't fire a shot; there was the risk, you see, of hitting Withers
instead of the bear. Even after he was knocked down, he seemed to think
he had nothing more form