Perhaps it may be Billy."
And off he went dead up wind at a good round pace, which warmed them
both and put them into better heart; and Dick broke into a cantering
song which the Corporal had taught him, and sang it in time to
Stonecrop's pace.
"_Oh, a soldier's son, and a soldier's son,
He must never go back, but always go on.
Though it may be hard, he must always try,
Though he may be hurt, he must never cry.
He must never lose heart nor seem distressed,
But pluck up his courage and do his best.
And so struggle on, and on, and on,
For that's the way for a soldier's son._"
Now nothing is more certain than that, if you wish to find your way
through a fog, you must travel in the direction that you have chosen as
fast as you can. Very soon the children found themselves going down
rather a steep descent, when Stonecrop again stopped and whinnied, and
an answering whinny once more came faintly out of the mist. So they
kept on their way down and came to a stream, where Dick guided his pony
across and up the ascent on the other side. But Stonecrop after
scrambling up for a little way deliberately came back to the water and
followed it downwards, sometimes in the bed of the stream, sometimes on
the bank by the side; and Dick let him go, feeling confident that the
pony knew better than he. So they went splashing down for a long way,
wondering what would come next, until Stonecrop again stopped and
whinnied; and a little further on they came upon another little stream,
running into that which they were following, where the pony turned and
followed the new water upward.
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