Lysander.

"Can't see ary thing by this light," replied Dan. "But we can go down
and find 'em."

Sprowl did not much fancy the idea of descending.

"It will be a waste of time to stop here," he said to Silas. "The live
traitors are of more consequence than the dead ones. Supposing we go to
the cave first, and come back and find the bodies afterwards. Have you
got your bearings yet, Carl?"

"I am peginning," said Carl, staring about him, with his hands in his
pockets. "I think I vill have 'em soon."

Sprowl looked at him with suppressed rage. "How cussed provoking!" he
muttered.

"It is--wery prowoking!" said Carl, looking at the moon. "Aggrawating!"

"Well, make up your mind quick! What will you do?"

Then it seemed as if a bright idea occurred to Carl.

"I vill tell you. You go down and find the podies, and I vill be
looking. Ven you come up again, I shouldn't be surprised if I could see
vair the cave is."

"Ropes," said Sprowl, "take a couple of men, and go down in there with
Pepperill. I think it's best to stay with this boy."

This arrangement did not please Carl at all; but, as he could not
reasonably complain of it, he said, stoically, "Yes, it vill be petter
so."

Ropes selected his two men, and left the rest concealed in the shadows
of the thickets.

"If I could go up on the rocks there, I suppose I could see something,"
said Carl.

"Well, I'll go with you. I mean to give you a fair chance." Carl felt a
secret hope. Once more alone with this villain, would not some
interesting thing occur? "Wait, though!" said Sprowl; and he called a
corporal to his side. "Come with us. Keep close to this boy. At the
first sign of his giving us the slip, put your bayonet through him."

"I will," said the corporal.

This was discouraging again. But Carl looked up at the captain and
smiled--his good-humored, placid smile.

"You do right. But you vill see I shall not give you the shlip. Now
come, and be wery still."

In the mean time, Pepperill, with the three rebels, descended into the
ravine. The spot where the dead man and horse had been was soon found.
But now no dead man was to be seen. The horse had been removed from the
rocks between which his back was wedged, and rolled down lower into the
ravine. A broad, shallow hole had been dug there, as if to bury him. But
the work had been interrupted. There was a shovel lying on the heap of
earth. Near by was another spot where the soil had been recently
sti