nd Jonas and his party at last. Jonas patted his head. Both
Jonas and Franco were overjoyed to see each other.

[Illustration: "'That can't be the way, Franco,' said Jonas."]

Jonas patted Franco's head and praised him, while the dog wagged his
tail, whisked about, and shook the snow off from his back and sides.

"What dog is that?" said the woman.

"This is Franco," said Jonas. "Franco Ney is his name. Now we shall have
no trouble in getting out."

Franco turned off, short, from the road in which Jonas was going. He
knew by instinct which way the shore lay from them. Jonas at first
hesitated about following him.

"That can't be the way, Franco," said he.

But Franco, after plunging on a few steps, looked round and whined.
Then he came back towards Jonas again a few steps, looking him full in
the face, and then whisked about again, and went on farther than
before,--and then stopped and looked back, as if to see whether Jonas
was going to follow him. Jonas stood just in advance of the oxen,
hesitating.

"That must be the way," said Jonas. "Franco knows."

"No, that isn't the way," said the woman; "the dog don't know any thing
about it. We must go straight forward."

"No," said Jonas, "it will be safest to follow Franco." And so saying,
he began to turn his oxen in the direction indicated by Franco.

The woman remonstrated against this with great earnestness. She said
that they should only get entirely lost, for he was leading them
altogether out of their way. But Jonas considered that the
responsibility properly belonged to him, and that he must act according
to his own discretion. So he pushed forward steadily after Franco.

But his progress was now interrupted by hearing another loud call behind
him, back upon the pond.

"What's that?" said Josey.

"Somebody calling," said Jonas.

"More travellers lost," said the woman.--"O dear me!"

He listened again, and heard the calls more distinctly. He thought he
could distinguish his own name. He answered the call, and was himself
answered in return by men's voices, which now seemed more distinct and
nearer.

"I know now who it is," said Jonas. "It is your uncle and Amos, coming
out after us. Franco was with them."

Jonas was right. In a few minutes, the farmer and Amos came up, and they
were exceedingly surprised when they saw Jonas with his oxen, drawing a
sleigh, with a woman in it, off the pond, instead of a sled load of
rafters from the woods.

"Jo