ly east as we can, and let's be off."

Turning their backs upon the sun, they began retracing their steps; but
they had journeyed scarce half an hour when they found themselves near a
range of hills, which they were sure they had not passed through, and
did not remember to have seen.

"What does this mean?" asked Howard, still more alarmed. "We never have
been near these."

"Are they not the hills we noticed just us we were about starting?"

"They cannot be;--these are larger, have not half as much wood upon
them. I tell you, Elwood, there is one thing sure."

"I know what you mean."

"What is it?"

_"We are lost!"_

[Illustration: "We are lost."]

"You are right. We may find Tim again, but we are going to have trouble
to do it."

"Listen! He may call to us."

They stopped walking find held their breath, but not a sound broke the
solemn stillness, save a faint, hollow roar--whether the deep murmur
that is always heard in a great forest, or the sound of the distant
Pacific Ocean they could not tell.

"No; he is asleep yet," said Elwood. "If he would only wake up he would
shout to us."

"Thus you see, if we shoot our guns, the chances are that _he_ will not
hear it, while it may be the means of bringing to us the very ones we
are so anxious to keep away."

So they concluded not to fire their rifles for the present.

"But these hills," continued Howard, "they don't extend in any great
direction either north or south. The question now is, shall we pass
around the northern or southern end?"

"What difference will it make?"

"All the difference in the world. If Tim is to the south of us, and we
pass around that way, I think we shall find him without much hunting,
while if we take the wrong course it will be night before we can get
anywhere near him."

"I see," replied Elwood. "We shall have to guess at it. But, hold!" he
exclaimed, with sparkling eyes. "You go one way and I will another!"

Howard shook his head.

"There is too much risk."

"Not at all. The distance is short, and we can whistle to each other
every few minutes. Then, you know, as we shall be looking for each
other, we cannot lose ourselves in these still woods. The minute I get
sight of the river I can tell whether we are above or below Tim."

Howard would not consent at first, but his cousin set forth the
advantages of the plan so eloquently that he finally agreed. Arranging
their signals and manner of proceeding, the boys, theref