e do?" said Harris.

Now I happen to possess the bump of locality. It is not a virtue; I make
no boast of it. It is merely an animal instinct that I cannot help. That
things occasionally get in my way--mountains, precipices, rivers, and
such like obstructions--is no fault of mine. My instinct is correct
enough; it is the earth that is wrong. I led them by the middle road.
That the middle road had not character enough to continue for any quarter
of a mile in the same direction; that after three miles up and down hill
it ended abruptly in a wasps' nest, was not a thing that should have been
laid to my door. If the middle road had gone in the direction it ought
to have done, it would have taken us to where we wanted to go, of that I
am convinced.

Even as it was, I would have continued to use this gift of mine to
discover a fresh way had a proper spirit been displayed towards me. But
I am not an angel--I admit this frankly,--and I decline to exert myself
for the ungrateful and the ribald. Besides, I doubt if George and Harris
would have followed me further in any event. Therefore it was that I
washed my hands of the whole affair, and that Harris entered upon the
vacancy.

"Well," said Harris. "I suppose you are satisfied with what you have
done?"

"I am quite satisfied," I replied from the heap of stones where I was
sitting. "So far, I have brought you with safety. I would continue to
lead you further, but no artist can work without encouragement. You
appear dissatisfied with me because you do not know where you are. For
all you know, you may be just where you want to be. But I say nothing as
to that; I expect no thanks. Go your own way; I have done with you
both."

I spoke, perhaps, with bitterness, but I could not help it. Not a word
of kindness had I had all the weary way.

"Do not misunderstand us," said Harris; "both George and myself feel that
without your assistance we should never be where we now are. For that we
give you every credit. But instinct is liable to error. What I propose
to do is to substitute for it Science, which is exact. Now, where's the
sun?"

"Don't you think," said George, "that if we made our way back to the
village, and hired a boy for a mark to guide us, it would save time in
the end?"

"It would be wasting hours," said Harris, with decision. "You leave this
to me. I have been reading about this thing, and it has interested me."
He took out his watch, and bega