“Scared to death, I redoubled my efforts to find a way out.  At last at one end of the room I found a chimney, one of those big stone affairs as big as all outdoors.  I decided to try this.

“I found that it was rough inside, and I had not much difficulty in clambering up it.  I was near the top when I heard a voice from the room below say: 

“’Then we uns ‘ull kill him right now.’

“‘Yep, he’s lived long enough.  He’s no good.’

“My heart jumped into my mouth.  I redoubled my efforts and emerged from the top of the chimney.  Reaching it, I lowered myself to the roof as gently as possible.

“The eaves came down low to the ground and I had not much difficulty in making my escape noiselessly.”

CHAPTER XXV.

THE WREN DISAPPEARS.

“But as I reached the ground a startling thing happened.  I missed my footing and found myself rolling down a steepish bank.  At the bottom I fetched up against an odd-looking little hut almost overgrown with bushes.  It was bright moonlight and the door was open.

“Inside was a fire, and by its light I could see that the place was empty of human life, but that a collection of objects already familiar to me almost filled it.

“It was an illicit still!

“Clearly enough, also, it was operated by my hosts up above.

“I listened for sounds of pursuit, but heard none.  Possibly they had not yet crept into my room to perform their horrible resolve.

“Suddenly the silence was broken by appalling yells and screams.  My hair bristled for an instant and then I burst into a laugh.

“It was a pig that I heard.  At the same instant it dawned on me that it was the pig that they had been discussing dispatching and not me at all.  You can imagine the revulsion of my feelings.  But I felt sore at the scare they had given me, so I decided to do some work for the government and even up scores at the same time.

“Entering the shack, I scattered the coals of the fire right and left.  Then I came away.  No, I did not go back to the cabin.  It would, as your friend Jeb said, not have been healthy for me.

“Instead I set off running at top speed through the woods.  Before long I saw a glow on the sky behind me, and knew that flames were devouring the vile stuff that moonshiners make.

“I left my pack behind me, however, and I hope that compensated them for the loss of their still.  I’m sure the woman, at any rate, would value its contents more highly.”

They all burst into a laugh at the conclusion of Mr. Parker’s odd story.  They were still laughing when Mandy rushed out on the porch.

“Miss Wren done be gone!” she shouted.

“Gone!” they all echoed, in dismayed tones.

“Yes.  I done go to her room to see de poo’ lamb is com’foble, and she not there.  I done find dis writin’, too.”