Ralph was observed climbing the steep incline at the other side and the party followed.
"Good boy, Frisky!" said Alfred, as he came up and stooped down to pat the dog.
"That's a remarkable animal; and where did you get him?" asked the commander.
"He adopted us down in the village this afternoon," said Ralph with a chuckle.
The commander threw his head back and fairly shook with merriment at the remark.
"Ah! that's the devoted dog that used to live at the stone cottage," said one of the officers. "I know him now."
"Here's the bench," said Ralph, "and it's through Frisky we found it."
The officers gathered around the stone and examined it with intense curiosity. The sketch of it, which is here appended, shows the marks and the figures. The face of the stone was about fourteen inches across and perfectly flat. On this was a cross, the limbs of which were a foot long.
The crosses indicated the cardinal points of the compass; that was evident, as one of them had, at its extremity, the letter N. Two circles were scribed, the center being at the crossing point of the two limbs. One arrow pointed northeast, the other southeast, one having the figure 7 at the point, and 47 across the middle of the body, while the other had 5 at the apex and 52 across the body.
The commander examined the stone intently for several minutes, occasionally shaking his head. Evidently something puzzled him.