sed his legs so well that he not only left his
pursuers out of sight and hearing behind, but circled gradually around
until he returned to the hole where his comrades lay. Here they all
remained for nearly an hour, and then, deeming themselves safe, issued
forth none the worse of their tumble. They commenced to return to the
coast, having settled that this was their wisest course, and that they
could easily avoid their late comrades by keeping well to the northward.
This deviation, however, was unfortunate. Those who have tried it,
know well how difficult it is to find one's way in a dense forest. The
more they attempted to get out of the wood the deeper they got into it,
and at length, when night began to close in, they were forced to come to
the conclusion that they were utterly lost--lost in the forest--"a
livin' example," as Larry O'Hale expressed it, "of the babes in the
wood!"

CHAPTER FIVE.

SHOWS WHAT THE LOST ONES DID, AND HOW THEY WERE FOUND.

The condition of being "lost" is a sad one in any circumstances, but
being lost in a forest--a virgin forest--a forest of unknown extent, in
a vast continent such as that of South America, must be admitted to be a
peculiarly severe misfortune. Nevertheless, we are bound to say that
our hero and his friends did not appear to regard their lost condition
in this light. Perhaps their indifference arose partly from their
ignorance of what was entailed in being lost in the forest. The proverb
says, that "where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise." Whether
that be true or not, there can be no question that it is sometimes an
advantage to be ignorant. Had our lost friends known the extent of the
forest, in which they were lost, the number of its wild four-footed
inhabitants, and the difficulties and dangers that lay before them, it
is certain that they could not have walked along as light-heartedly as
they did, and it is probable that they would have been less able to meet
those difficulties and dangers when they appeared.

Be this as it may, Will Osten and Larry O'Hale, Muggins, and Old Peter,
continued to wander through the forest, after discovering that they were
lost, until the increasing darkness rendered further progress
impossible; then they stopped and sat down on the stump of a fallen
tree.

"It is clear," said our hero, "that we shall have to pass the night
here, for there is no sign of human habitation, and the light is failing
fast."

"That'