ith a glance at the ground,
as if to refresh his memory.

His first thrill of misgiving came when he saw the parson pause and
look searchingly at the ground. Had he possessed one-half the skill of
Vose in trailing, he would have discovered that the guide was
misleading them, but he did not have that cleverness nor did any other
member of the party. The glance of the parson was perfunctory and his
brief pause was to regain his breath after the short but laborious
climb of the steep slope. Vose was watching him closely and quickly
saw the meaning of his action, for, whatever Brush may have observed
on the ground in front of him, it was not the faint impressions left
on the stones by the fugitives. Neither the captain nor Ruggles so
much as looked at the earth, accepting the dictum of their guide
without question.

It was not deemed best to mount the animals, because of the roughness
of the ground and the belief that they were close upon the parties for
whom they were searching. Vose took care to turn so sharply to the
right that they were speedily out of sight of the spot where he had
parted from the fugitives. Everything was going promisingly when Wade
Ruggles startled his companions by the exclamation:

"Helloa! there's that dog Timon!"

A hundred yards to the left rose a pile of rocks, the highest of which
reached an altitude of two hundred feet or more. Upon the crest of one
of the lower rocks, which had only a slight height, the immense dog
stood in plain sight. It looked as if he had started to ascend the
rocks, when he discovered the party and paused to learn their
business.

The picture was a striking one. The enormous size of the brute gave
the impression at first that he was a wolf or some wild animal that
had challenged the advance of the four men. This error would have been
made had not each been so familiar with the creature. As he stood, his
formidable head raised, his forequarters being slightly higher than
the remainder of his body, his position was diagonal. He was surveying
his acquaintances, who surveyed him in turn with equal curiosity.

Vose Adams's heart sank. What was the meaning of this? As he viewed
it, the presence of the dog could have no other significance than that
the lieutenant and Nellie Dawson were close at hand. Timon was in
their company and would not have strayed far, so that he had betrayed
them. From some cause, which the guide could not comprehend,
Lieutenant Russell had made