With this idea in mind she turned
to search for some means of putting it into execution; but her
first view of the interior of the cabin brought a shriek of
terror to her lips, and like a frightened child the huge woman
ran to bury her face on her mistress' shoulder.
Jane, turning at the cry, saw the cause of it lying prone
upon the floor before them--the whitened skeleton of a man.
A further glance revealed a second skeleton upon the bed.
"What horrible place are we in?" murmured the awe-struck
girl. But there was no panic in her fright.
At last, disengaging herself from the frantic clutch of the still
shrieking Esmeralda, Jane crossed the room to look into the little
cradle, knowing what she should see there even before the tiny
skeleton disclosed itself in all its pitiful and pathetic frailty.
What an awful tragedy these poor mute bones proclaimed!
The girl shuddered at thought of the eventualities which
might lie before herself and her friends in this ill-fated
cabin, the haunt of mysterious, perhaps hostile, beings.
Quickly, with an impatient stamp of her little foot, she
endeavored to shake off the gloomy forebodings, and turning to
Esmeralda bade her cease her wailing.
"Stop, Esmeralda, stop it this minute!" she cried. "You are
only making it worse."
She ended lamely, a little quiver in her own voice as she
thought of the three men, upon whom she depended for
protection, wandering in the depth of that awful forest.
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