ed suspicion. He determined to set
forth once more, he scarcely knew where. He had a vague idea of
finding his way back to the road, so as to be able to assist the
ladies, together with another idea, equally ill defined, of coming
upon the brigands, finding the Italian, and watching for an
opportunity to wreak vengeance upon this assassin and his guilty
partner.

He drew his knife once more from a leathern sheath on the inside of
the breast of his coat, into which he had thrust it some time before,
and holding this he set forth, watchfully and warily. On the left side
of the precipice the ground sloped down, and at the bottom of this
there was a narrow valley. It seemed to him that this might be the
course of some spring torrent, and that by following its descent he
might come out upon some stream. With this intention he descended to
the valley, and then walked along, following the descent of the
ground, and keeping himself as much as possible among the thickest
growths of the trees.

The ground descended very gradually, and the narrow valley wound along
among rolling hills that were covered with trees and brush. As he
confined himself to the thicker parts of this, his progress was
necessarily slow; but at the end of that turn he saw before him
unmistakable signs of the neighborhood of some open place. Before him
he saw the sky in such a way that it showed the absence of forest
trees. He now moved on more cautiously, and, quitting the valley, he
crept up the hill-slope among the brush as carefully as possible,
until he was at a sufficient height, and then, turning toward the
open, he crept forward from cover to cover. At length he stopped. A
slight eminence was before him, beyond which all was open, yet
concealed from his view. Descending the slope a little, he once more
advanced, and finally emerged at the edge of the forest.

He found himself upon a gentle declivity. Immediately in front of him
lay a lake, circular in shape, and about a mile in diameter, embosomed
among wooded hills. At first he saw no signs of any habitation; but as
his eyes wandered round he saw upon his right, about a quarter of a
mile away, an old stone house, and beyond this smoke curling up from
among the forest trees on the borders of the lake.

The scene startled him. It was so quiet, so lonely, and so deserted
that it seemed a fit place for a robber's haunt. Could this be indeed
the home of his enemies, and had he thus so wonderfully com