all through the night tim o'rooney and howard lawrence sat in close consultation. hunger and sleep were alike unthought of. elwood brandon was lost, and that was all of which they could think or speak. how they longed for the morning, and how impatient they were to be on the hunt! it seemed to howard as if he could go leaping and flying down the chasms and gorges among the hills, and never tire until he had hunted out and brought back his cousin. where could he be? if nestling in the branches of a tree, or hid away among the rocks, was he asleep? or if awake, of what was he thinking? did he believe that howard was searching for him? or did he imagine him also lost? it would not be reasonable to suppose that he had any suspicion of his finding tim o'rooney.
if in the hands of california indians——but it would be vain to trace out all the thoughts and speculations that ran through the head of the boy. some of them were of the wildest and most grotesque character, and would assume a ludicrous phase to one whose mind was not in such a whirl of excitement and distress.
in the gloom of the wood the darkness was so intense that neither tim nor howard could distinguish each other, though only a few feet apart. the newfoundland lay close to his master, seemingly sound asleep, but more heedful than the two of the approach of danger.
occasionally through the night the call of some wild animal was heard—sometimes distant and sometimes so near that they started to their feet and were about to enter their canoe and shove out into the stream; but when it came no more they were reassured. then something like the report of a gun came faintly up the river to their ears.
these sounds only served to render the night more gloomy and lonely, and to make the daylight the more welcome.
"now let's be off," said howard, as soon as it was light enough to distinguish each other's faces.
"we must find some means of remembering this place, or we'll never see the canoe agin, and will be obliged to sail into san francisco on fut."
the boat was drawn entirely out of the water and covered as much as possible with leaves and undergrowth; for it was a loss that under any circumstances they could not sustain. the feat of marking the place so that they could readily return to it from any direction was more difficult; but howard finally hit upon quite an ingenious scheme. they waited until the sun had approached near enough to the horizon that they could tell precisely the point where it would appear, and then turning their backs against it they walked forward until they reached the hills where elwood had disappeared. here they noticed the character and formation of the rocks so particularly that they could recognize them the moment they saw them. thus the hills were such a conspicuous landmark as to be seen from a great distance; and, as they did not intend to go out of their sight, all they had to do was to hunt till they found this spot, and then walk due east.
all this was agreed upon, and they were among the hills just as the sun was coming up the horizon. here, after whistling and shouting for sometime without receiving any response, they concluded to search for the point where the boys separated. this was quite distant, and over an hour was required to find the place, and when it was discovered howard could not be positive that he was right.
but as time was of the greatest importance, they pressed on, the dog snuffing the ground as though he had scented the footprints, but he failed to follow them with certainty. several hundred yards brought them to an opening in the hills just broad enough to admit the body of a man. it was not a tunnel-like opening, but a rent, as if the hills had been pulled a few feet asunder by the power of an earthquake.
the two paused in doubt before this.
"he went in there," said tim. "he couldn't help it, no matter how great his hurry."
"i am half disposed to believe you; at any rate let us follow it some ways."
terror was running over the ground, as though he had made a discovery, and he finally whisked forward out of sight.
"that looks as if he were upon his trail."
"yis, or somebody ilse's; maybe some of the rid gintlemen has took his marnin' walk in this direction."
they followed the path with caution, and were surprised the further they advanced. it wound around and among the rocks, which came so close together as to forbid the passage of a man, and the sides never withdrawing more than a dozen feet.
"it looks as though it had been made on purpose," said tim, gazing around him in admiration.
finally, it was broken up among the hills, after winding through every point of the compass for fully an eighth of a mile. it gradually rose from its commencement—occasionally interrupted by sharp ascents—until its termination, when they found they had reached no mean elevation.
still the rocks rose on every hand, and shut out their view of the surrounding country, but showed them a specimen of the wild scenery produced in california. the interior of the hills was cut up by chasms, gorges and ravines, and they heard, but did not see, the rush of a small stream of water.
they stood in silence a few moments and then howard said:
"if he is lost in here there is no need of us looking for him."
"and why not?"
"we might search till we died of old age, and never find the least trace of him."
"and might discover the poor youngster's body the first half-hour we spint in looking."
this last remark caused howard to start off at once, fully resolved not to pause again in the search until compelled to do so.
terror was constantly commanded to hunt for the trail of the boy, and the dog appeared to understand what was expected of him, for he was running constantly hither and thither, but never gave sign that he had found anything positive.
this fact led howard to doubt whether elwood had preceded them in this place. if he had really been here, he must have passed directly over the spot upon which they were standing, and it seemed hardly possible that the dog could miss the scent. so strong was he impressed with this that he proposed to tim o'rooney to turn back and resume their search outside the hills; but he was so sure that elwood brandon could never have passed unentered such an inviting opening that he would not consent to withdraw until they examined further.
looking around they saw several paths by which they could enter the wild, desolate-looking scene before them. of course, it was all a matter of chance whether they took the one which had been followed by their lost friend. tim affirmed that the one that looked the most dangerous and uninviting was surely the right one; but howard was hardly prepared to admit this. selecting the most accessible, they carefully followed it for over an hour. in and out among the rocks, sometimes over their tops, then between or around them, down through ravines, and then along their edges, up the stony, earthy sides of the gorges, until at length they halted as they believed in the very heart of this wild looking place.
"here we are!" said howard. "i don't see how we can advance much further without going out to the other side."
"it's the qua'rest sight i iver looked upon," said tim, turning round and round, meaning the wild scenery.
"but there is nothing learned of elwood."
"niver a sign do i saa of the youngster," rejoined tim. "i graive to think we cannot be near him."
"we have gone on the wrong track."
"i'm a feared so."
"too bad, too bad," wailed howard, "what is to come of the poor fellow?"
"but we can't till," hastily added tim, "do yees put your fingers in your mouth and give that jolly little whistle."
howard lawrence was in the very act of doing so when his arm was suddenly arrested by his companion, who, with an exclamation of surprise pointed to a ledge of rocks above them.
