They pushed their way on into the wood again, making for the opposite side to that on which they had entered; and then Ralph's words that they did not know what else they might find were proved to be very true, for, upon its farther side, bordering upon a stretch of wild open land, they came upon a ruined building. It looked as if at one time it had been a chapel, or monastery, or something of that sort; the pillars, the pointed windows, and the arched doors gave them that impression. It was a fairly large building, larger than the house they had left, and its crumbling walls were thickly overgrown with ivy. A mournful, silent ruin it was, where only the shapes and shadows of those whose feet had once trodden its stone floors now seemed to lurk; but it was a shelter, and in Ralph went. "I don't care for twenty men and dogs," he said resolutely. "I am not going on in this rain, and I am going to have a look in this ruin." "But you do not think that you will find any trace of your father there, Ralph," protested Warren. "I don't, old man; I only hope for shelter. Come on. If the worst comes we will get on the stairs and drive off the dog with stones. Come on." It looked gloomy outside--it looked more gloomy within, as they passed in through the yawning space where once a stout oak door had been. How their footsteps echoed, and how great piles of damp, decaying leaves lay in the corners, and ugly lizards scuttled away as they went on. But, for all that, after the first disinclination was got over, there was something very exciting in wandering about the ruin, exploring this way and that, going down into dark, oozy places underground, or clambering up into the old, deserted turret above, at the no small risk of breaking one's neck. They wandered here and there, until at last a single ray of sunlight, falling through a broken casement, awoke them to the fact that the storm was over, and that they could get on their way again. "We had better go, Ralph," said Charlton. "I must, for think how mother will feel if I am not home when she expects me." "Well, I don't think it is much good staying," Warren added. "It seems impossible that your father should be about here, Ralph. That sound was an echo." "I suppose it must have been something of that sort," Ralph admitted reluctantly. "There seems to be no other explanation. You must forgive me for seeming stupid; but, you see, it--it is my father!" He stopped and Charlton pressed his hand sympathetically, while Warren said hastily-- "Oh, of course, old fellow, I understand; and I only wish that we could have found something out. What a stunning place this ruin would be for hiding in! You could play hide-and-seek about it for a week!"