A Young Hero | Page 5

enthusiasm had lasted till far in the afternoon, the sun seemed to beat down hot, and the poor boy's feet dragged heavily, while much talking had made the Doctor's voice sound husky, and a great thirst troubled both.
"Getting tired, Phil?"
The little fellow turned--his weary, troubled eyes towards his questioner, and was about to say, "Oh, so tired and so hungry!" But he forced himself to say:
"Yes, just a little."
"Ah, and so am I," said the old man, cheerily; "but look yonder!"
"Soldiers!" cried Phil, excitedly.
"No, no, no, my boy; we are free and safe, and out in the open country. I mean, look at that dark fir wood yonder, and the gleam of sunshine on water! Let's get there and rest and bathe our feet; and then what do you say to a nap?"
"Shall we find the fish and make the fire, Dr Martin?" said the boy, anxiously.
"I hope so," was the reply. "Let's try. Come along. Hang on to my hand; or, look here, Phil, what do you say to a pig-a-back?"
"Yes," cried the little fellow, holding out his hands eagerly. "No, I won't. I'm not quite tired, and I'm getting so heavy now. It isn't far, is it?"
"Not very," said the Doctor, rather faintly, and they trudged on and reached a little stream, which cut its way through the sandy land just at the very edge of a pine wood, to sink at once upon the bank.
There were no fish visible, but the clear water was delicious, and they drank long and deeply, before bathing their weary and sore feet.
"What fun!" cried Phil, reviving a little as he buried his feet in the soft, warm, dry sand and let it trickle between his toes.
But a cloud came over his face directly after, for it was many hours since anything had passed his lips. There was abundance of dead wood low down about the trunks of the fir-trees, but no flint and steel or tinder-box to obtain fire, and the evening was very near.
The Doctor looked far and near, but no farmhouse or settlement was in sight, and when after a long rest he proposed that they should make a fresh start and Phil replaced his socks and shoes, he limped when he stood up, and in spite of a brave effort the tears would come to his eyes.
"Let's rest a little longer," said the Doctor, tenderly, and he led the way a short distance into what proved to be a vast pine forest, where the needles that had fallen for ages lay in a thick dry bed. "Let's try here," he said, as he raked a hollow beneath the great far-spreading boughs, which were thick enough to form a shelter from any wind or rain that might come.
"Lie down, my boy," said the old man, gently, and the little fellow glanced at him piteously and obeyed.
"Oh, don't look at me so reproachfully, my child," sighed the Doctor to himself, as the weary boy's eyes looked large and dark in the shade; but only for a few moments before they grew dull, and then the lids fell and he was sleeping so soundly that he did not stir when the Doctor raked the soft sweet-scented pine needles round him till he lay as if it were in a nest.
And only a few minutes after the Doctor had sunk lower and lower, drooping over his charge to keep watch, but only to leave that to the great bright stars which came out one by one, peering down among the pine boughs at the dark spot where the travellers, old and young, were sleeping soundly.
CHAPTER THREE.
Phil was the first to wake in the soft grey morning, to lie listening to a regular sharp tapping made by a busy woodpecker somewhere among the ancient pines; and he wondered some time what it meant and where he was. But a soft deep breath close to his ear made him start round so suddenly that he awoke Dr Martin, who started up looking as surprised as his bed-fellow.
"I couldn't recollect where I was," said Phil, "Oh, I am so hungry."
"And no wonder, my poor boy. There, come and bathe your face with me, and at all costs we must get to some farmhouse and buy or beg our breakfast."
The bathing was soon at an end, and though disposed to limp a little, Phil stepped out bravely in the direction the Doctor chose, and with such good effect that before long the chimneys of a farmhouse were seen, for which they made at once.
"Cows," said Phil, eagerly, "and a man milking."
It was as the little fellow said, for half a dozen cows were dreamily munching grass, while a sour-looking man was seated upon a stool. Dr Martin walked up at once, the man being so intent