st one went to his aid; when all the
children grew tired, they laid their burden on the ground and sat down
beside it. Thus, by easy stages, was Tom Brixton conveyed away from the
spot where he had given himself up as hopelessly lost.

Now, it could not have been more than six hours after Tom had thus been
borne away that poor Tolly Trevor came upon the same scene. We say
"poor" advisedly, for he had not only suffered the loss of much
fragmentary clothing in his passage through that tangled wood, but also
most of the food with which he had started, and a good deal of skin from
his shins, elbows, knuckles, and knees, as well as the greater part of
his patience. Truly, he was in a pitiable plight, for the forest had
turned out to be almost impassable for horses, and in his journey he had
not only fallen off, and been swept out of the saddle by overhanging
branches frequently, but had to swim swamps, cross torrents, climb
precipitous banks, and had stuck in quagmires innumerable.

As for the horses--their previous owner could not have recognised them.
It is true they were what is styled "all there," but there was an
inexpressible droop of their heads and tails, a weary languor in their
eyes, and an abject waggle about their knees which told of hope deferred
and spirit utterly gone. The pony was the better of the two. Its
sprightly glance of amiability had changed into a gaze of humble
resignation, whereas the aspect of the obstinate horse was one of
impotent ill-nature. It would have bitten, perhaps, if strength had
permitted, but as to its running away--ha!

Well, Tolly Trevor approached--it could hardly be said he rode up to--
the spring before mentioned, where he passed the footprints in stupid
blindness.

He dismounted, however, to drink and rest a while.

"Come on--you brute!" he cried, almost savagely, dragging the horse to
the water.

The creature lowered its head and gazed as though to say, "What liquid
is that?"

As the pony, however, at once took a long and hearty draught it also
condescended to drink, while Tolly followed suit. Afterwards he left
the animals to graze, and sat down under a neighbouring tree to rest and
swallow his last morsel of food.

It was sad to see the way in which the poor boy carefully shook out and
gathered up the few crumbs in his wallet so that not one of them should
be lost; and how slowly he ate them, as if to prolong the sensation of
being gratified! During the two