egathered, and stood huddled in the blinding mist on
a flat rock.

"It's blowing over," said Wally. "We'd better make back for the hill-
side, and get out of this ravine till it clears up."

It was no easy task scrambling back, down that difficult way, over
boulders already made slippery by the moist mist, and not able to see
four yards ahead. The clouds poured up to meet them in column upon
column, growing denser and wetter every minute. At last, how they
scarcely knew, they came down to where the rush of the water ceased and
the stones gave place to wet grass.

"We must be somewhere near where we sat down last," said Ashby. "Whew!
it's cold."

"The thing is," said Percy, "aren't we too much out to the left?
There's no sign of a path that I can see."

"This looks like one," said a voice ahead, which they recognised as
Wally's. "Come along--this way."

They followed as well as they could, and groped about for the path.
Then they shouted.

Wally replied out of the mist.

"Stay there a bit--it's not a path. I'll yell when I've got it."

They waited, and for five minutes listened anxiously for the signal.
Then they thought they heard it away to the right, and floundered off in
pursuit. But after a little they discovered that they were going
uphill.

"Hadn't we better go back to where we were," said Cash, "or we may miss
him?"

It occurred to most of the party that they had missed him already.
Still, they decided to go back.

Presently they distinctly heard what sounded like a voice below them.

"That must be he. Yell!"

They shouted, and again there seemed to come a faint response.

"All right," said Percy. "Stay where you are, and I'll go and fetch him
up."

And he vanished into the mist.

"What's the time?" said Ashby, as the party stood dismally waiting.

"Half-past four. It's a good job it doesn't get dark till six."

"Only an hour and a half," said Cottle; "I wish those chaps would come."

But though they strained their ears and eyes, no sign of the missing
ones came; nothing but the swish of the rain and the whistle of the wind
through the grass.

"We'd better go on," said D'Arcy presently; "they'll probably get down
some other way. Look sharp, or it will be dark."

So they started at a fast walk down the boggy slope.

"Keep close," said D'Arcy after a time. "Are you all there?"

Everybody answered for himself, but not for his neighbour.

"You there, young Fisher minor?"