He paused for a few moments, and then forced his way in amongst the trees in a direction which Rob felt to be entirely wrong, but in his despondent state he was too low in spirit to make any opposition, and after marking the spot where Shaddy had disappeared, he turned round suddenly, placed his arm across a huge tree trunk, rested his brow against it, and hid the workings of his face.
“Come, come, Rob, be a man!” cried Brazier, laying his hand upon the lad’s shoulder. “Never despair, my boy, never despair!”
“Joe! Joe!” groaned Rob; “it is so horrible!”
“Not yet. We don’t know that he is lost.”
“He must be, sir, he must be, or he would have answered our hails.”
At that moment there was a shout from out of the forest, and Rob started round as if thinking it might be their young companion, but the cry was not repeated; a shrill whistle came instead.
Brazier answered it with a whistle attached to his knife.
“It was only Shaddy,” groaned Rob. “Mr Brazier, you don’t know,” he continued. “We two had quarrelled, and had not made friends, and now, poor fellow, he is gone.”
“No, I will not believe it yet,” cried Brazier; “for aught we know, he may have escaped. He is too clever and quick a lad not to make a desperate effort to escape. We shall run up against him yet, so cheer up. Ahoy!” he cried in answer to a hail, and followed it up with a whistle.
“Naylor said he should whistle for a time and then hail,” said Brazier, trying to speak cheerfully. “Come, lad, make a brave fight of it. You are getting faint with hunger, and that makes things look at their worst, so rouse up. Now then, answer Naylor’s signal.”