The ashes of a fire were heaped in a rude grate.

Beside it lay some cooking utensils and a bucket half-full of water.

A litter of empty tins showed that the place had been occupied for some time, and I saw, as my eyes became accustomed to the checkered light, a pannikin and a half-full bottle of spirits standing in the corner.

In the middle of the hut a flat stone served the purpose of a table, and upon this stood a small cloth bundle--the same, no doubt, which I had seen through the telescope upon the shoulder of the boy.

It contained a loaf of bread, a tinned tongue, and two tins of preserved peaches.