The little girls were very tired and hungry, and Faith suggested that they should eat their luncheon and rest before searching for the cave.
“I wish I had brought more corn bread,” said Esther, when they had finished the last morsel of the food.
“It’s lucky you brought as much as you did,” responded Faith. “We’d better begin looking for the cave now.”
It was hard work climbing up the rocky hillside, and it did not seem such an easy matter to locate the cave as Esther had expected. They peered under rocks, and climbed over ledges, and were nearly discouraged when a sudden noise made Faith grasp Esther’s arm with a whispered “Hush”; for almost in front of them, apparently coming directly out of the hillside, appeared the head and shoulders of a man. But they were too near to conceal themselves or to try and run away.
“Great Cæsar’s Ghost!” exclaimed the man, crawling out from the cave. “Two little maids! Where did you come from?”
Faith’s hold on Esther’s arm tightened. “Don’t tell. Don’t answer his questions,” she whispered, remembering her mother’s caution about strangers, and thinking perhaps this might be an English spy who had discovered the cave.
“Where are the others?” asked the man.
Esther looked questioningly at Faith, but neither of them spoke.
The man’s stern face softened as he looked at the two little figures. He realized they must be the children of some settler in the Wilderness—perhaps children who had wandered too far from home and lost their way.
“You need not be afraid to speak,” he said smilingly. “Perhaps I know your fathers. Tell me your names.”