And then we set off again through the forest, at a more moderate pace now, for the way ran no longer clear.  The word “forest” to a stay-at-home means a tract of soft, springy turf, with tall trees and pleasant glades and clumps of bracken that shelter rabbits and other small creatures of the woodland.  But the forest of the West Indies bears to our English forest the relation of a giant to a dwarf.  The fronds of the bracken grow to feet where we have inches; weeds that with us would shelter a mouse would there oonceal an elephant, and a creeping plant which in England would delay a man only while he kicked its tendrils aside grows in Jamaica to such a strength and tanglement that it would obstruct the passage of a troop of horse.

This was somewhat in our favor.  We could run where horses might not.  But I took little comfort from this, for where we went the dogs would certainly follow.  And we had not gone above a mile, as I reckoned, when the howling sound came to our ears—­a deep-toned baying, faint and mellow, stealing through the umbrageous foliage like the horns of some fairy host.  The hounds had found our scent.

Uncle Moses groaned.  Doubtless he knew full well the fate of unhappy slaves who had been recaptured in flight.  He quickened his strides for some yards, then, stopping, he held his hand to his side and begged me to go on alone.

“But I can not,” I said.  “I do not know the way; and besides, I will not leave you.  Give me your musket.  We have still a good start, and after you have rested a little you will be able to run again.”

I took his musket, and when we set off again we were lucky to come upon a stream swirling athwart our track.  We stepped into this and walked through the water for some distance, until we had, as I thought, effectually blinded our trail.  And no doubt it was so, but Uncle Moses told me that it would only delay our pursuers for a little; they knew the direction of the haven for which we were making, and even if the dogs were at fault the horsemen would still press on.  We wasted no more time in deflecting from our course for any such vain manoeuvers, but ran straight on.

Alas! the old man’s strength was failing.  He staggered, and but for my arm would have fallen.  I think his collapse was due partly to terror, for the baying of the hounds was growing upon our ears; the pursuers were gaining fast upon us.  I had perforce to wait patiently until the poor negro had somewhat recovered, and meanwhile the deep-mouthed baying sounded ever nearer, and the precious minutes were fleeting by.  When we set off once more ’twas at little above a walking pace, and every moment I dreaded the appearance of the pursuers at our heels.  And I noticed with alarm that the forest was thinning; apparently we should soon reach open country, and lose what little advantage we had in being out of our enemy’s sight.

I asked anxiously whether ’twould not be better for us to turn aside into the thickets and try to hide; peradventure the dogs and the horsemen would go past.  But the negro said ’twould be useless; we could not deceive the dogs, and we should be no safer than rats in a barn.