e.

It was near nine o'clock when we halted upon the outskirts of the dark
forest. Hardly a ray of the hot sun penetrated the woods; all was gloomy
and silent. Occasionally a parrot upon the borders of the forest uttered
a shrill scream, and then spreading its gaudy wings sought shelter upon
the bough of a tall tree, from whence it could watch our movements
without danger.

The hound, which we had taken with us, ran with his nose close to the
ground, sometimes moving within a few feet of the trees, and then
starting off, scouring the prairie in his search, but always returning,
until he suddenly stopped before what seemed a dense thicket. During all
the time that he had been upon the scent not a cry had escaped him;
indeed, he seemed to realize that silence was our only safety, and acted
accordingly.

"The dog has found the trail of the bushrangers," the convict said,
suddenly halting, and waiting for the rest of us to join him.

"The dog is keen on the scent, and acts as though trained to track
runaways," cried Smith, resting his heavy axe upon the ground, and
rubbing his shoulder where the skin was nearly worn off by friction.

The animal bounded towards us, wagged his tail, looked into our faces
with his knowing eyes, and then trotted slowly back to the thicket
before which he had halted in the first place.

"Don't let us stand here all day under this broiling sun," cried Fred,
impatiently. "If we are to search for bushrangers, let's begin and get
through with the job as soon as possible."

"There is no haste," cried the aged convict, in a tone of reproach. "Our
success depends upon the degree of caution that we employ. Our object is
to surprise the party we are in pursuit of, and not let them surprise
us."

"O, I understand," replied Fred, indifferently; "something of the Indian
style of warfare, hey? Well, we are somewhat used to that, and can
follow a trail as well as any amateur hunters in the country."

The convict made no reply, but examined the priming of his gun,
tightened the sash which he wore around his waist, and then, briefly
surveying the little party, as though calculating on the relative
strength of each man, he moved forward.

We gained the thicket, where the dog was awaiting us. No entrance
through the dense undergrowth met our view; and had we not known that
the dog came from a breed of hounds that never deceive, we should have
deemed it impossible for human beings to have entered the f