rey's, or should he desire to
return, to bring him back with us, as my father considered that for the
present he would run no risk of being captured, and he might prefer
continuing with us to seeking his fortune among strangers. We gladly
undertook the duty, having little doubt of what he would like to do.

"I am afraid the poor fellow must have been starving all this time, as
the provisions Mr Tidey left with him can scarcely have lasted more
than couple of days," observed Dan as we trudged along.

"He had his rifle, you must remember," I answered, "and although he may
not be a very good shot, he will be able to knock over a few birds or a
racoon, or an opossum, and there are berries in abundance growing in the
neighbourhood of the cave."

Although I said this, I was well aware that there were many dangers to
which Dio might have been exposed. Wolves or bears while prowling about
might have found him asleep, or he might have fallen into the hands of
Indians, or he might have been discovered by white men, who, suspecting
him to be a runaway slave, might have secured him in the hope of
obtaining a reward for bringing him back. There was also the
possibility, should he have finished his provisions, that he might have
been afraid of going out in search of more, and that he might be
suffering from starvation. We therefore hurried on as fast as our legs
could carry us. We did not pass a single farm on our route where we
could obtain assistance should we require it, although there were
several away to the eastward.

In spite of the utmost exertions we could make, it was nearly sunset
before we reached the neighbourhood of the cave. We looked about, no
sign of Dio could we discover, not the slightest trail to show that he
had left the cavern or that anyone had entered it. So far this was
satisfactory. Though we knew the locality, the mouth of the cavern
itself was not very easy to find. We had therefore to hunt about for
some time, until at length we discovered the bushes which grew in front
of it, when we at once began to creep through them; we crawled on till
we found ourselves in the mouth of the cave. Mr Tidey had minutely
described the spot where he had left Dio. We groped our way forward
expecting to see the light from his fire, but not a gleam came forth
from any of the passages to direct us.

"Oh, suppose a bear and her cubs are hid away anywhere, what shall we
do?" exclaimed Dan.

"Shoot the bear and