clutching me by the arm; "here, where we stand, is the very spot
from which my boy fell! And below yonder is the valley!"

Even as he uttered the words, the dogs halted and came towards us,
looking wistfully into St. Aubyn's face, as though they fain would
speak to him. We stood still, and looked down into the green valley,
green even in mid-winter, where a score of goats were browsing in
the sunshine. Here my friend would have descended, but the Raouls
bade him trust the leadership of the dogs.

"Follow them, monsieur," said Theodor, impressively; "they can
see, and you cannot. It is the good God that conducts them.
Doubtless they have brought us to this spot to show you they know
it, and to inspire you with confidence in their skill and guidance.
See! they are advancing! On! do not let us remain behind!"

Thus urged, we hastened after our canine guides, who, impelled by
the mysterious influence of their strange faculty, were again pressing
forward. This time the track ascended. Soon we lost sight of the
valley, and an hour's upward scrambling over loose rocks and sharp
crags brought us to a chasm, the two edges of which were separated
by a precipitous gulf some twenty feet across. This chasm was
probably about eight or nine hundred feet deep, and its sides were
straight and sheer as those of a well. Our ladders were in requisition
now, and with the aid of these and the ropes, all the members of
our party, human and canine, were safely landed on the opposite
brink of the abyss.

We had covered about two miles of difficult ground beyond the chasm,
when once more, on the brow of a projecting eminence, the hounds