We glanced suspiciously at the hound as he stood near the fire, looking at our faces and appearing to understand every word that was said on the subject; indeed, when Smith stated, during the conversation, that he would not on any account leave his wagon, the brute uttered a howl as though he despaired of success, and turned all of his attention to Fred and myself.

“Let us follow him,” cried my friend, grasping his rifle as though he feared nothing with that in his hand.

The dog, as soon as Fred had uttered the words, crouched at his feet and licked his shoes, while a low bark testified to his joy.

I looked towards Smith for advice and guidance in the matter.  He was musing on the subject, but when he saw that we only waited for his decision, he shouldered his axe, and nodded his head.

“Let us follow the brute,” he cried.  “We may be the means of saving life, and, perhaps, much suffering.  Lead the way, good dog, and take us to your master.”

The hound sprang from his crouching position at Fred’s feet, and started on a dog-trot along the road that led towards Melbourne.  In a few minutes, despite our exertions to keep pace with him, he was out of sight; but we followed along the course which he had started, and after a short time he returned to our sides, wagging his tail, and apparently urging us to increase our speed.

A dozen times did he disappear in like manner, yet never for any length of period; and after we had walked nearly three miles, the animal abandoned the beaten track and continued across the prairie.

“I don’t want to go a great ways in this direction,” muttered the convict, glancing around, and trying to pierce the darkness.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because, a few miles farther and we shall be near the forest which I spoke to you about.  It is infested with men better seen at a distance or not at all.”

In spite of Smith’s fears, however, we tramped on quarter of an hour longer, and then, by the uneasy movements of the dog, concluded that we were not far from our destination.

Suddenly the animal sprang forward with a bay of warning, and disappeared as if by magic.  The next moment we were upon the steep bank of a gulch, nearly thirty feet deep; and had not the actions of the dog rendered us careful, we should have plunged headlong upon its rocky bed.

For a moment, we remained motionless, hardly daring to move, for fear that one false step would lead us to our ruin; but, after listening for a while, we heard the dog as he reached the bottom of the ravine, and then we determined to follow at all hazards.

With careful steps we worked our way down the steep bank, and after half an hour’s toil found ourselves at the bottom.  The hound was waiting for us, and testified his impatience by a deep bay.  The instant, however, that we joined him, he became silent, and trotted on as before.