feet. He was old and worn out, and in him I lost my best guard and
friend.

One day as I went from the hill to the coast, a scene lay in front of me
which made me sick at heart. The spot was spread with the bones of men.
There was a round place dug in the earth, where a fire had been made,
and here some men had come to feast. Now that I had seen this sight, I
knew not how to act; I kept close to my home, and would scarce stir from
it, save to milk my flock of goats.

To feel safe was now more to me than to be well fed; and I did not care
to drive a nail, or chop a stick of wood, lest the sound of it should be
heard, much less would I fire a gun. As to my bread and meat, I had to
bake it at night when the smoke could not be seen. But I soon found the
way to burn wood with turf at the top of it, which made it like chark,
or dry coal; and this I could use by day, as it had no smoke.

I found in the wood where I went to get the sticks for my fire, a cave
so large that I could stand in it; but I made more haste to get out,
than in; for two large eyes, as bright as stars, shone out from it with
a fierce glare. I took a torch, and went to see what they could be, and
found that there was no cause for fear; for the eyes were those of an
old gray goat, which had gone there to die of old age. I gave him a
push, to try to get him out of the cave, but he could not rise from the
ground where he lay; so I left him there to die, as I could not save his
life.

I found the width of the cave was twelve feet; but part of it, near the
end, was so low that I had to creep on my hands and feet to go in. What
the length of it was I could not tell, for my light went out, and I had
to give up my search. The next day, I went to the cave with large lights
made of goat's fat; and when I got to the end, I found that the roof
rose to two score feet or more.

As my lights shone on the walls and roof of the cave, a sight burst on
my view, the charms of which no tongue could tell; for the walls shone
like stars. What was in the rock to cause this it was hard to say; they
might be gems, or bright stones, or gold. But let them be what they may,
this cave was a mine of wealth to me; for at such time as I felt dull
or sad, the bright scene would flash on my mind's eye, and fill it with
joy.

A score of years had gone by, with no new sight to rest my eyes on, till
this scene burst on them. I felt as if I should like to spend the rest
of my life here;