CHAPTER XLI.
A BOY LOST.
When Elwood Brandon separated from Howard Lawrence on the afternoon oftheir ramble in the woods, it was with the firm intention of making allhaste around the range of hills, and there to unite with him in theirhunt for Tim.
But, like too many boys, he suffered himself to be led from the surepath by the allurements of the false one. His example furnished astriking moral lesson, which he will doubtless remember to the day ofhis death.
When we are following the course which conscience tells us is the trueone, although it may be rough and stony, and at times most difficult tokeep, yet the knowledge of what awaits us at the end should be proofagainst temptations to turn aside. Woe to him who chides the voice ofconscience and listens to that of the charmer!
Elwood had gone some distance, and was walking very rapidly, when hecame abruptly upon the opening in the rocks which has been mentioned inanother place.
"Ah! here is a shorter cut across," was his reflection as he saw it, andnot stopping to think further, he turned and walked rapidly through it."I will beat Howard," and he smiled at the thought. "What will he thinkwhen he gets around to see me waiting for him? I know he will run so asto be there first."
Thus hopeful, Elwood hurried forward, thinking only of the surprise hewould give his cousin when they met again. As he found the path taking amost sinuous course, a dim idea came through his head that perhaps afterall he had not gained so much by "cutting across." He would have turnedback as it was but for the rapidly increasing darkness and the beliefthat he must speedily emerge from the eastern side of the hills.
While walking through a narrow part of the path, he was alarmed by therattling of some dirt, stones and debris over his head, and before hecould retreat or advance he was stricken on the head by several pieceswith such violence that he staggered and fell to the ground.
He was not senseless, but somewhat stunned, and placed his hand on hishead to see whether it was cut. Finding no blood, he arose to his feetand replied to the whistle of Howard, which had been ringing in his earsfor the last ten minutes.
Immediately after, he was taken with a sickness at the stomach, theresult, doubtless, of the mental shock received. Such was his faintnessand nausea that he lay down upon the ground for relief. When a boy feelsso sick--as shown also by older persons in seasickness--he generallybecomes perfectly indifferent to everything else in the world. Elwoodconcluded that Howard might whistle as long as he chose, and he wouldreply when he felt able. As for the gathering darkness, wild animals andsavages, what did he care for them? They could exist and get alongwithout his taking any trouble to think about them.
And so he lay still until his sickness diminished and was graduallysucceeded by drowsiness, which was not long in merging into slumber.
Whoever yet remembered the moment he went to sleep? Whoever lay still togain a few moments of slumber without obtaining far more than heexpected, and regretting it when his intellect became sharp and clear?
It was near midnight when Elwood awoke, and all was blank darkness. Hecalled to Howard and Tim, and not until he had felt around with hishands, did he remember his situation. Then it all came to him.
"This is a pretty piece of business," he thought, as he arose to hisfeet. "Poor Howard is half-frightened to death, and I suppose is stillhunting for me. But I don't hear him."
He listened, but all was still.
"It may be that he has grown tired, but will hear me if I call to him."
Whereupon he whistled again and again, and shouted and listened and thenrepeated his signals, but there was no response. But for the interveninghills his cry would have reached the two watchers by the river shore,but with twice the penetrating power he still would have failed to reachthem.
"Well, the best thing I can do is to wait here until morning, and then Ican make my way back again."
His sickness was gone, but he felt somewhat chilled from lying upon theground with no extra covering, although the night was quite moderate, ifnot really warm. The contact with the ground had made a portion of hisbody cold, and the sluggish circulation prompted him to exercise.
"I hardly know whether to stay here or to go back to the woods and takerefuge in a tree. Some animals may find me here, while I shall be safeif I am only twenty feet above ground."
The vivid recollection of the wolverines gave him this fear and finallyinduced him to leave the place and seek shelter.
But at the moment of starting he was confronted by an alarmingdifficulty. He found it impossible to decide upon the proper course tofollow, and could not tell with certainty which way led in or out. Thisresulted from his having turned around several times in his effort torestore warmth and circulation on awaking from his sleep. Had he notdone this the position in which he lay during slumber would have toldhim the truth.
"How strange!" he reflected, vainly seeking to recover from hisbewilderment. "If I only had a little light I think I could tell, butthis is rather delicate business when I don't know whether I may go overthe rocks or not."
He leaned against the wall of the path and thought. At last he believedhe knew which way to turn, and facing backward he began to pick his wayout. This, we may say, was the right course, and had he only perseveredin it would have brought him out of the hills into the woods, restoredhim to Tim and Howard a few hours later and saved him one of the mostmomentous experiences of his life.
He had retreated but a few rods when he became sure he had made amistake and was going wrong. It seemed from his contact with the rocksand the curious windings it made, that he had never passed over theground, but was advancing further into the hills.
"This will not do," he said aloud, as he paused. "I am astray and mustchange about."
He did so at once, and believing, of a surety, that he was now upon theright path he walked much faster than was prudent. The truth was, theassociations of the plate were such as to make him in a hurry to getaway from it. He knew he would feel relieved when he could get once moreinto the open air of the woods. A strange fear that the overhanging rockwould fall or imprison him caused him to hasten still more. Afterwalking some time further he slackened his steps.
"I must be pretty near the opening, judging by the distance I have come;and if such be the case--"
Further words were checked, for at that instant Elwood stepped off thepath and went down--down!