round the shore as far as I could get, and I've had our two dogs with
me, who'd either of them have mentioned it if there'd been a stranger
anywheres near; and she ain't here. An' if she's climbed _over_ the
hill, _she's_ a spunky one--somewhat spunkier than _I_ should think
natural." He looked at Bates very suspiciously as he spoke.

"Well?"

"Well, _my_ belief is that there ain't no young lady, and that you're
gassing me."

"Very well," said Bates, and he turned away. It was offensive to him to
be accused of telling lies--he was not a man to give any other name than
"lie" to the trick attributed to him, or to perceive any humour in the
idea of it--but it was a thousand times more offensive that this youth
should have presumed to search for Sissy and to tell him that the search
had been vain.

Horrible as the information just given was, he did not more than half
believe it, and something just said gave him a definite idea of
hope--the strange dogs had not found Sissy, but the house-dog, if
encouraged to seek, would certainly find her. He had felt a sort of
grudge against the animal all day, because he must know which way she
had gone and could not tell. Now he resolved as soon as the strangers
were gone to set the dog to seek her. Upon this he stayed his mind.

The surveyors hoped to get a few days' more work done before the winter
put an end to their march; they determined when thus stopped to turn
down the river valley and take the train for Quebec. The way they now
wished to take lay, not in the direction in which the ox-cart had gone,