orest in that
direction.

For some time we examined the premises to find an opening; but none
appearing, Smith swung his axe over his head and let its sharp edge
strike the bushes, intending to cut a passage. As if by magic the boughs
gave way, and we discovered an opening which bore the appearance of
having been frequently used.

A brief examination convinced us of the fact. The branches of young
trees and the tops of the bushes were so interlaced that no one would
have suspected that an entrance into the forest was possible in that
quarter. It proved to us that we were near the encampment of
bushrangers, but whether the party we were in pursuit of, was more than
we could tell.

We motioned to the hound to lead the way, and the noble animal, after a
brief examination of the ground, trotted slowly forward.

Our steps were taken with caution, for we wished to come upon the
outlaws unexpectedly.

For ten minutes we continued our silent march, the dog leading the way
with unwavering instinct, avoiding the thickets and dense growth of
trees,--hardly noticing the small wild animals of the hare species that
ran before his very nose,--until he suddenly stopped and looked into our
faces, as much as to say, "Now, pray be cautious."

"Hist!" cried the convict, who led the way, holding up his finger. "I
smell smoke."

"And I can see it," replied Fred, pointing to an opening in the trees
nearly a quarter of a mile distant.

We all strained our eyes in the direction that Fred indicated, and I no
longer doubted that we were in the vicinity of an encampment, although
neither Smith nor the convict was ready to testify that they saw signs
of fire.

"I call my eyes as clear and keen as most any one's," Smith said; "but
if you can see smoke it's more than I can do."

"My eyes are not so good as they were twenty years back, and I trust
more to the scent than the sight. Now I can smell smoke, but see none,"
the aged convict said, inhaling his breath as though trying to
distinguish from what direction it came.

"You Englishmen have never lived in one of our American forests, or you
would be better acquainted with the appearance of smoke when it came
from a fire that has long been neglected and is about dying out. I will
wager a pound of good rifle powder that in yonder clearing we shall find
a camp of bushrangers, and that the smoke which we see comes from the
fire they made when they returned from their nocturnal excursion la