a hearty meal.

Then the three walked slowly toward the entrance to relieve Jake; but,
to the surprise of all, he was not there.

"It is my fault," Neal cried while Cummings was looking around in the
belief that the sentinel had gone to another portion of the cave and
would soon be back. "I knew from what was said this forenoon that he had
an idea of venturing out, and made up my mind to watch him closely; but
the history lesson and the fishing caused me to forget it entirely."

"Do you mean that he has had an idea of leaving us?" Cummings asked in
astonishment.

"No; he simply proposed to take a walk. He thinks it is as safe for him
as for Poyor."

"But I, who surely understand the woods better than he, would not dare
to attempt it."

"You know what he has done."

"If he does not lose his own life ours may be sacrificed," Cummings said
passionately. "The Indian can go through the undergrowth without leaving
any sign of his passage: but for Jake to do so is simply to set up a
guide-board by which the enemy can find us."

"I should have told you at once," Neal said in self reproach.

"You are not to be blamed in the slightest; but if I could get my hands
on him at this moment he would regret most sincerely ever having such a
thought in his head."

"What will be the result?" Teddy asked in distress.

"If he succeeds in finding his way back, which I doubt very much, we
will be forced to make a change regardless of the consequences, and if
he is captured it becomes a case of our putting the greatest possible
distance between this cave and ourselves," Cummings replied bitterly.

"I might go out and try to find him," Neal suggested, and his companion
put an end to any such idea by saying impatiently:

"Your efforts to aid him would only result in making our own position
just so much the worse. We must wait until Poyor comes back, and learn
what he has to say in regard to the affair."

"But it seems cruel to let him run into danger without saying a word."

"It is not half as bad as it is for him to jeopardize all our lives. He
did the same thing once before, and the consequence was that instead of
making back tracks to my shanty, as could easily have been done, we are
forced to skulk around two or three weeks with no certainty of escaping
even at the end of that time."

Both Neal and Teddy understood that it would be useless to say anything
more in Jake's favor, and as a matter of fact, they felt quite as b