CHAPTER XXXVII.
BACK TO CAMP.
The hill which the boys proposed to pass around was about a quarter of amile in length and but slightly less in breadth--much greater thaneither of them suspected when they set out. It rose like a peak to theheight of several hundred feet, as if it were an offshoot from the mainridge of hills, left to flourish by itself.
Howard walked slowly along, after glancing back at his cousin until theintervening wood concealed him from view, when he gave a short, sharpwhistle, which was immediately answered. Then, appreciating thenecessity of haste, he quickened his footsteps.
As he advanced the hills assumed proportions of which he had notdreamed, and that raised in his mind strong doubts as to the wisdom ofseparating from his companion. He would not have done it had not thelatter urged him so. Misgivings now arose in the mind of the boy. Helooked upon his duty as that of restraining and tempering Elwood'simpulsiveness. He had done so several times to his manifest advantage;but on this day, as Howard looked back, it really appeared as if he hadbidden good-by to his senses. Their separation from Tim was almostcriminal in its foolishness, and yet he had scarcely raised anobjection; and now, was not the last proceeding still more imprudent? Asit stood, the three members of the little party who should never havebeen out of each other's sight, were now a good distance from eachother, and that, too, when in a hostile country.
From these rather sad reflections Howard was roused by the faint,echoing whistle of Elwood.
"He is all right," thought he, feeling much relieved, as he placed hisfingers to his mouth and returned the whistle. "We are both now passingaround the hill, so that we cannot get further apart, and can keepwithin call all the time."
Admonished by the lateness of the hour, Howard almost ran. He grewsomewhat impatient at the unexpected extent of the hill; but finally hepassed beyond the southern point, and as he stood and listened, he heardthe murmur of the river--proof that it was close at hand.
"Now," thought he, "if Elwood will only hurry, we have a good chance offinding Tim before he gives us up for lost."
The boy could not see that anything at all was gained by their course inpassing around the ridge. Neither of them, were in sight of the river,and would have to advance still further before they could form any ideaof their whereabouts. He was resolved to do this in company with hiscousin, so that precisely the same thing would have been accomplishedhad they remained together.
Howard having hurried a great deal, thought it likely that he was somedistance in advance of his cousin. He stood some minutes listening forhis signals, and then began walking toward the northern end of the hillthat he might meet him as he came around. He observed as he advancedthat they increased in rocky ruggedness, and could see that it was quitea feat to pass through them.
Going some distance he paused again, and listened intently, but nothingbeside the deep murmur of the woods reached his ear.
"What can it mean?" he finally asked himself, as a vague alarm creptover him. "We must be much closer together than we were before, and Ihaven't heard him whistle for the last half-hour."
He began to doubt whether it was best to proceed further or not. Itmight serve only to mislead in case Elwood was searching for him. Stillhearing nothing to indicate the location of his friend, he made thesignal himself--a long, screeching whistle, that rang out in the solemnstillness with a penetrating clearness that sent the chills over himfrom head to foot.
"He must hear that if he is within a mile," was his reflection, as heleaned his head forward and listened for the first approach of theanswering sound.
Ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed away, but nothing was heard, and thepoor boy looked around in sore alarm.
"Can it be that Elwood is jesting?" he asked himself. "He would not doso if he knew what I am suffering."
Howard was now in great distress. He could not decide what to do. If headvanced he could feel no assurance of meeting his friend, while aretreat was equally hopeless.
Where was Elwood? Had he wandered off among the hills, tempted by thewild scenery, and had he lost his way? Was he searching for his cousin?Or had he been found by Indians?
The last inquiry had been rising in Howard's mind for a half-hour, buthe had resolutely forced it down again, until he could keep it away nolonger. He could find no other reason to account for the silence, andfailure to answer his call. The whistle which he had given must havespread miles in every direction--so far that Elwood could not have gotbeyond its range had the course of both been precisely opposite. No; itmust----
But, hark! A faint, tremulous whistle comes to his ear. It is far awayand sounds among the hills behind, as though it had labored up from somecave or chasm miles distant. Howard held his breath, and as heanticipated, it came again so faintly and distantly that had he beenwalking he could not have heard it.
On both occasions it sounded behind him among the hills, though itstremulous faintness made it appear as though it came from far up in theair, or down deep in some of the gorges of the hills--so uncertain wasthe exact point of its starting.
Poor Howard was now in a dilemma. Whether to attempt to follow up thesignal or to go on to the river and search out Tim O'Rooney and theNewfoundland was a question which was difficult to decide. But hiseagerness to find his cousin led him on into the hills, until he hadpenetrated quite a distance. He then paused and listened for the signal,but none was ever to come to his ears again.
Howard repeated the whistle over and over, and finally fired his gun;but both were equally fruitless. He waited where he was until dark, whenwith a sad heart he withdrew and resumed his tramp toward the river.Gloomy indeed were his meditations, as he reflected on the occurrencesof the day, and there was scarcely anything he would not do, if by anymeans he could recall _his_ part since he landed upon the main shore.
In the course of half an hour he reached the river, and looked intentlyout into the semi-darkness to see whether he could recognize anythingfamiliar; but so far as he was able to see, all was strange, from whichhe concluded that he had struck at a point lower down than where Tim hadbeen left.
He therefore began making his way south, that is, toward the source ofthe river, after halting and listening for some sound that might tellsomething either of Tim or Elwood. Suddenly a threatening growl startledhim, and then came the welcome bark of Terror, and the next moment thedog was frolicking around him and showing his delight in the mostextravagant manner.