When he came up from the hollow the children had disappeared. He could
see their footprints on a narrow path which led to the woods, and these
he continued to follow.
Soon he came to a cross-road. Here the children must have separated, for
there were footprints in two directions. The boy looked now as if all
hope had fled. Then he saw a little white down on a heather-knoll, and
he understood that the goosey-gander had dropped this by the wayside to
let him know in which direction he had been carried; and therefore he
continued his search. He followed the children through the entire wood.
The goosey-gander he did not see; but wherever he was likely to miss his
way, lay a little white down to put him right.
The boy continued faithfully to follow the bits of down. They led him
out of the wood, across a couple of meadows, up on a road, and finally
through the entrance of a broad _allee_. At the end of the _allee_ there
were gables and towers of red tiling, decorated with bright borders and
other ornamentations that glittered and shone. When the boy saw that
this was some great manor, he thought he knew what had become of the
goosey-gander. "No doubt the children have carried the goosey-gander to
the manor and sold him there. By this time he's probably butchered," he
said to himself. But he did not seem to be satisfied with anything less
than proof positive, and with renewed courage he ran forward.
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