A man appeared at the end of the glade, and, catching a glimpse of the boy's form, gave a shout and ran forward; but he stopped, and looked very cross, as Ralph himself walked innocently to meet him, with the question--"Have not you found him yet?" "No," grumbled the man. "He is a slippery fellow, and is giving us a lot of trouble; but we will have him yet. We are working right through the wood, and we must be driving him before us, and when he gets to the other side----" "He will bolt," said Ralph. But the man smiled grimly. "Into our arms. We have four men stationed keeping watch there. No, we shall have him yet. You have not seen him?" "There was a man in that little hollow, the other end of this path. I saw him there," said Ralph, with perfect truthfulness. "Which hollow? The one to the right?" said the man quickly. And Ralph nodded. "Ah, we have looked there! He has bolted. Then we are right on his track. Stop a minute, though. That old tree looks a likely place. Here, give us a hand, boy! I will lift you, and you look in. Can you see anything?" And he lifted Ralph, and helped him to scramble up, and peer down into the hollow depths of the old oak. "Can't see much," said Ralph, his head in the hollow. "There is a gleam of light below, and something dark. Can't you clear away the leaves a bit, and then I can see whether it is a man or not?" The constable sprawled on the ground, and thrust his arm into the hole at the bottom of the trunk, dragging out leaves and dust, till Ralph cried-- "It is all right; I can see now. There is no one there. What I was looking at was a lot of leaves. They have tumbled over now, and you are pulling them out." "That's no good, then; only it looked a likely place. Down you come, boy!" And, helping Ralph down, the man turned and ran off, satisfied that he had looked in the only place where the fugitive could have hidden himself. "I see that you are a clever lad," said Mr. Charlton when the fugitives again stood beside Ralph. "But what now? You heard what he said? There is no getting away on that side." "We are not going out that side, though," was Ralph's answer. "We are behind them now, and while they are hunting forward, we will go back." "They will have left watchers behind them." "I suppose so. They cannot have left many, though, for they had not enough men. Back is our only chance. We will try it. There is no time to stop talking now," he added, as he saw that the man was going to ask more questions. "Come, follow me!" Going cautiously, pausing to listen again and again, he led the way; and soon they were getting close to that side of the wood from which the search had commenced. Then he bade the other two remain hidden, and he went forward by himself, until, at last, he was able to peer from the hedges.