bout ten rods wide, and
densely covered with large timber. Looking down on either side, we could
see through the clouds and fog, a valley of wooded land on one side, and
clear land on the other. We walked along this ridge all day, and as the
sun was completely obscured, we could not tell in what direction we were
moving. We examined the moss on the trees, but sometimes it would be on
one side, and then on the other. About five o'clock, our path led down the
mountain, and in half an hour more, we were surprised to find, that
although we had followed the path all day, we had come out just where we
went up in the morning. We learned after, that this was Cheat mountain,
and is a high ridge shaped like a bowl, with a valley in the center, and
we had walked around the crest all day, making nearly ten miles. It was
now about sundown, and reconnoitering in different directions, we finally
found the road again, and laying down in some weeds, waited for darkness.

CHAPTER XVI.

BACK INTO WALHALLA--WE RUN INTO A REBEL PICKET IN THE DARK AND ARE TAKEN
IN--A LITTLE JUDICIOUS LIEING SECURES OUR RELEASE--OVERTAKING SOME WAGONS
GOING FROM MARKET--CHATTING WITH A COMPANY OF REBEL CAVALRY.

Starting out again at dark, we walked on rapidly for about five miles,
when we came to some covered wagons beside the road, and just after
passing them, I said to Alban, "I believe this is Walhalla again." He
thought it impossible; so said I, "we won't go far before we come to a
carpenter shop, with a bench outside." Sure enough, we soon came to the
carpenter shop that I had noticed as we passed hastily through the town
that morning. Turning about we walked back, and soon found how we had made
the mistake in the darkness. Near where these wagons were camped, there
was a fork in the road; we had taken the right hand fork in the morning,
and turned into the woods to the left of the road. The road we had found
at night, was the other branch of the fork and turning to the left again,
we had walked directly back to where we started from in the morning. It
was now nine o'clock, and again taking the right hand road, we started
back towards Tunnel Hill.

There were mile boards on this road, that told the distance, and as we had
been told it was six miles to Tunnel Hill, we walked along briskly for
nearly four miles, when all of a sudden there rang out clear and distinct
that well known challenge: "Halt! Who comes there?"

The voice was not five ro