How long they slept the children never knew. They were awakened at last by a long, long howl, which seemed to come from the other side of the hill. They sat up and clutched each other in terror. There was an answering howl from Argos, and mingled with it they heard the dull thud of many feet, the bleating of sheep, and the frightened cries of lambs. "The sheep are frightened. There's a stampede!" cried Dion. The two children plunged through the bushes and gazed about them. The whole flock had disappeared! Their bells could be heard in a mad jangle of sound from the farther side of the hill, Argos was barking wildly. "Come on," shouted Dion, springing out of the bushes, "We must get them back." "Suppose it is a wolf!" shrieked Daphne, tumbling after him. "We'll have to get the sheep back even if it is a bear," cried Dion, and he tore away over the crest of the hill and down the farther slope. Daphne followed after him, as fast as she could run. The sheep were already a long distance away, in a region of the hills which the children had never seen before in their lives, but they did not stop to think of that. All they thought was that the sheep must be brought back at any cost. They could see Argos barking and circling round the frightened flock, and away in the distance a huge wild creature was just disappearing into the woods. On the children ran, over rocks and through briars, until at last they reached the sheep, whose flight Argos had already checked. Dion ran beyond to turn them back, while Daphne herded them on one side and Argos on the other. When they had the flock together and quiet once more, the children counted them. "There's one missing!" cried Daphne, aghast. "And it's the old black ewe! What will Father say?" "It's all your fault," said Dion. "I told you you would have bad luck if you spoke about the Gods the way you did. I shouldn't wonder if that wasn't really a wolf that we saw. It may have been Pan himself! Or it may have been Apollo, and he meant to show you that you can't run even as fast as a sheep!" "Anyway, the old black ewe is gone." "Oh dear! Oh dear! What shall we do?" mourned Daphne. By this time the sun was low in the sky, and it was late afternoon. "The first thing to do is to get home as fast as we can," said Dion. "Which way is home?" said Daphne. Dion looked about him. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe Argos does. Here Argos! Good dog! Take 'em home! Home Argos! Home!" Argos wagged his tail, and ran around behind the flock. "Bow-wow, bow-wow," he barked, and nipped the heels of the wether. In a short time he had the whole flock moving toward a hollow between the hills. As they trotted along behind the sheep, Daphne struck her hands together in dismay. "What else do you think I have done?" she cried. "I've left my crook in the robber's cave!" "And I left my pipe there, too," Dion wailed.