They packed up their things as quick as they could, leaving the fire to burn itself out, only Rollo first piled on all the hemlock branches,—which made a great crackling. The snow began to fall faster. The air was full of the large flakes, which floated slowly down, and lodged gently upon the old snow.
The children went along very successfully for some time, but at length Rollo lost his way. The air was so full of snow-flakes, that he could see only a very little way before him; and the old snow covered the ground, so as to hide all the old marks, and to alter the general aspect of the fields so much, that Rollo was completely lost. He, however, did not say anything about it, but wandered on, Lucy and Nathan wondering all the while why they did not get home; until at length they came across a track in the snow.
"O! see this track," said Rollo. "Here is a track, where somebody else has been along with a sled."
"Yes," said Lucy, "some boys, who have gone out to slide, perhaps."
The track was partly obliterated by the snow which had fallen upon it since the boys that made it had gone along. Rollo wondered whose track it could be. He said that he thought it very probable it was Henry's. Lucy thought that it might be the track of some children, that had gone out to find them.
"At any rate," said Rollo, "we will follow the track a little way, and see what it leads to. Perhaps we shall overtake the boys."
Accordingly Rollo turned along in the track, but Lucy stopped.
"No, Rollo," said she, "we must go the other way if we want to find the boys;—the track is going the other way. But never mind," she added, "I don't want to find the boys; I want to go home; so we will go this way."
Rollo went on, secretly pleased to find the track, for he supposed that by retracing it, as he was doing, it would lead him back home. He had, however, a great curiosity to know who could have made it; and in fact the mystery was soon unraveled.
For, after following the track a short distance, they saw before them a large, dark spot upon the snow, and, on drawing near to it, to see what it was, they found it was the place of their own encampment; and the track which they were following was their own track, leading them back to the mouldering remains of their own fire. They had gone round in a great circle, and come back upon their own course. Rollo looked exceedingly blank and confused at this unexpected termination of the clew, which he had hoped was to have led him out of his difficulty. What he was to do now, he did not know.