"That Corbould we know has vowed vengeance against Edward, and all of
us; and has, no doubt, joined those robbers--for robbers they must be
--that he may fulfill his vow. It is fortunate that I have made the
discovery and I will send over immediately to the intendant." As soon
as a clump of trees had shut out the thicket, and he had no longer any
fear of being seen by these people, Humphrey went in the direction
which the robber had mentioned, and soon afterward he perceived the
oak scathed with lightning, which stood by itself on a green spot of
about twenty acres. It had been a noble tree before it had been
destroyed; now it spread its long naked arms, covering a large space
of ground, but without the least sign of vegetation or life remaining.
The trunk was many feet in diameter, and was apparently quite sound,
although the tree was dead. Humphrey left Billy to feed on the herbage
close by, and then, from the position of the sun in the heavens,
ascertained the point at which he was to dig. First looking around him
to see that he was not overlooked, he took his spade and pick-ax out
of the cart and begun his task. There was a spot not quite so green as
the rest. which Humphrey thought likely to be the very place that he
should dig at, as probably it was not green from the soil having been
removed.
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