I
take these willains from the others, the petter," thought he. At length
he came in view of the high ledge upon which Penn had discovered Cudjo
at his idolatrous devotions, on the night of the fire. The moon was
getting behind the mountain, and there were dark shadows beneath this
ledge. Though he should travel a mile, he might not find a more suitable
spot to locate his fictitious cave. He hesitated; considered well; then
gently tapped Lysander's arm.

"You see vair the rock comes down? And some pushes just under it? Vell,
the cave is pehind the pushes, ven you find it!" Which was indeed true.

Lysander crept a few paces nearer, stealthily, flat on his belly, with
his head slightly elevated, like a dark reptile gliding over the moonlit
ground.

"Now is my time!" thought Carl. His heart beat violently. He raised
himself on his knees, preparing to spring. Lysander was at least ten
feet in advance of him, and he thought he would risk the pistol. "I
run--he fires--he vill miss me--I shall get avay." But the corporal?
Just then he felt a piercing pressure in his side. It was the corporal,
nudging him with the bayonet to make him lie down.

"I vas shust going a little nearer."

The corporal seemed satisfied with the explanation; but, as the boy
advanced on his hands and knees, he advanced close behind him,--holding
the bayoneted gun ready for a thrust.

So Carl succeeded only in getting a little nearer Lysander, without
increasing at all the distance between him and the corporal. It was a
state of affairs that required serious consideration. He lay dawn again,
and pretended to be anxiously looking for the mouth of the cave, whilst
watching and reflecting.

Just then occurred a circumstance which seemed almost providentially
designed to favor the boy's strategy. Upon the ledge appeared two human
figures, male and female, touched by the moonlight, and defined against
the sky. They remained but a moment on the summit, then began to descend
in the shadow of the ledge. Their movements were slow, uncertain,
mysterious. Below the base of the rock they stood once more in the
moonlight, and after appearing to consult together for a few seconds,
disappeared behind the bushes where Carl had placed his imaginary cave.

If Sprowl had any doubts on the subject before, he was now entirely
satisfied. He believed the forms to be those of Virginia and the
schoolmaster; they had been out to enjoy solitude and sentiment in the
moonli