Thinking that one of these skins might be of service to him in the life he would be obliged to live for some time, he commenced sorting them over, for the purpose of finding one that would answer his purpose, when a figure suddenly sprang up from the pile. It would be hard to tell which of the two was the more frightened. "Dat you, massa," at length exclaimed the familiar voice of Black Bill. "I tought it was de debil come back agin to carry me off." "What, is that you, Bill?" said Flint, greatly relieved, and glad to find some one who could explain the strange disappearance of Hellena and Lightfoot. "Where are the rest, Bill?" he asked; "where's the white girl and the Indian woman?" "Debble carry dim off," said Bill. "What do you mean, you black fool?" said his master; "if you don't tell me where they've gone, I'll break your black skull for you." "Don't know where dar gone," said Bill, tremblingly, "Only know dat de debble take dem away." Flint finding that he was not likely to get anything out of the boy by frightening him, now changed his manner, saying; "Never mind, Bill, let's hear all about it." The boy reassured, now told his master that the night before while he was lying awake near the pile of skins and the women were asleep, he saw the walls of the cavern divide and a figure holding a blazing torch such as he had never seen before, enter the room. "I tought," said Bill, "dat it was de debble comin' arter you agin, massa, and I was 'fraid he would take me along, so I crawled under de skins, but I made a hole so dat I could watch what he was doin'." "He looked all round a spell for you, massa, an' when he couldn't find you, den he went were de women was sleepin' an woke dem up and made dem follow him. "Den da called me and looked all ober for me an' couldn't find me, an' de debble said he couldn't wait no longer, an' dat he would come for me annudder time, An den de walls opened agin, an' da all went true togedder. When I heard you in de cave, massa, I tought it was de debble come agin to fetch me, an' so I crawled under de skins agin." From this statement of the boy, Flint come to the conclusion that Bill must have been too much frightened at the time to know what was actually taking place. One thing was certain, and that was the prisoners had escaped, and had been aided in their escape by some persons, to him unknown, in a most strange and mysterious manner. Over and over again he questioned Black Bill, but every time with the same result. The boy persisted in the statement, that he saw the whole party pass out through an opening in the walls of the cavern. That they had not passed out through the usual entrance was evident, for he found everything as he had left it. Again he examined the walls of the cavern, only to be again baffled and disappointed.