"I'm thinking, sir," said the Norseman, "that he had no matches, and has gone to seek for a stone to use with his knife to strike a light. There can be no other reason." "Then he will be back directly," said the captain. "There, leave them to cook; I am uneasy about him. Let's search those places a little farther off. We'll take that one, Handscombe; you the other, Johannes." They all then started off as the fire burned up, and spread quite a cloud of black smoke overhead; and the Norseman had barely reached the mouth of the ravine which he was to explore before he stopped and gave a triumphant shout as he waved his hand. The others waved their hands in answer, and turned to where he stood, with something in his grasp, peering carefully around. "His cap!" cried the captain. "What does that mean?" The Norseman shook his head. "The ground is hard as iron, sir," he said; "there is not an impression anywhere. I've been looking for foot-marks." "Surely he has not been attacked by wild beasts--bears!" cried Mr Handscombe hoarsely. "I thought of that, sir; but there is no sign." They hailed again and again, but there was no reply save that given by the echoes, and the captain grew more uneasy. "Show me exactly where you found the cap," he said. The Norseman trotted about fifty yards on beyond the entrance to the ravine he had been set to search, and picked up a piece of slaty coal. "Just here, sir," he said. "I put this where I found the cap." "Then he must have gone on in that direction; he would not have come back to go down there." "No, sir." "But why should he have dropped his cap?" said the doctor. "He must have been running after something, sir." "Or something must have been running after him," cried the doctor. "He would not have gone any farther than this unless there was some reason." "Of course not," said the captain testily; "but what reason could there be?" "Well, it seems to me that the best thing is to go back to the fire and wait a few minutes," said the doctor, after standing thoughtful and silent. "He is far more likely to come to us than we are to go to him. It seems to be a mystery; but mysteries sometimes turn out very simple things. What do you say?" "I say that we'll have a good search down this gully, and see if by any chance he has gone down here. You, Johannes, search along over our morning's track straight away, and try and be back in half an hour at the fire. We will meet you."