A thin stream of smoke curled up above the purple-brown trees against the blue sky as the riders turned toward the mountain path.
"I wonder if that is our fire still burning," said Mary Lee to the colonel.
"Hardly," he answered. "It is some cabin in the mountain I suppose."
Mary Lee watched the smoke drift away across the blue and wondered how it would seem to live so far from neighbors. She decided that she would not like it. They were able to penetrate much further with their horses, and this time Colonel Lewis's compass was put to use. When the path became too intricate they fastened their horses and the colonel led the way on foot, and finally reached the very log where Phil and Mary Lee had rested the night of their wanderings.
To their surprise, a little further on was a clearing, and it was discovered that the path they had taken led them to a cabin, from which came the stream of curling smoke they had seen as they came up the mountain. After searching all along their way and at last scattering the leaves by the log they concluded that they must give up the watch as irretrievably lost, and were about to turn away when Mary Lee saw some one watching them curiously from a little distance off.
"There's somebody," she said to her Cousin Polly. "I am going to ask if anything has been seen of the watch."
"Over there; it is a little girl about as big as I am."
"It must be Wordsworth's cottage girl," said Polly, "for she has 'a rustic woodland air, and she is wildly clad.' I reckon she will run if you speak to her, Mary Lee. These mountain people are mighty scary."
"Then don't you come. Maybe she won't be afraid of a girl her own size. You stay here."
Polly agreed and Mary Lee went toward the girl who did indeed show signs of alarm and looked as if she were about to run away when Mary Lee called to her, "don't go, please. I want to ask you something."
The girl stood her ground though she backed away as Mary Lee came up. She was a pretty, dark-eyed little creature with masses of light curly hair tousled about her neck. She wore a ragged, faded calico frock and her feet were bare.
"My cousin and I got lost up here Saturday night," said Mary Lee, "and if we had known there was a house so near we wouldn't have been so scared. We heard a wildcat and it frightened us nearly out of our wits."