was the fact that Black Jack had eluded their vigilance and crossed the trail some time in the night.  He had escaped to the swale; from there he probably crossed the corduroy, and reaching the lower end of the swamp, had found friends.  It was a great relief to feel that he was not in the swamp, and it raised the spirits of every man on the line, though many of them expressed regrets that he who was undoubtedly most to blame should escape, while Wessner, who in the beginning was only his tool, should be left to punishment.

But for Freckles, with Jack’s fearful oath ringing in his ears, there was neither rest nor peace.  He was almost ill when the day for the next study of the series arrived and he saw the Bird Woman and the Angel coming down the corduroy.  The guards of the east line he left at their customary places, but those of the west he brought over and placed, one near Little Chicken’s tree, and the other at the carriage.  He was firm about the Angel’s remaining in the carriage, that he did not offer to have unhitched.  He went with the Bird Woman to secure the picture, which was the easiest matter it had been at any time yet, for the simple reason that the placing of the guards and the unusual movement around the swamp had made Mr. and Mrs. Chicken timid, and they had not carried Little Chicken the customary amount of food.  Freckles, in the anxiety of the past few days, had neglected him, and he had been so hungry, much of the time, that when the Bird Woman held up a sweet-bread, although he had started toward the recesses of the log at her coming, he stopped; with slightly opened beak, he waited anxiously for the treat, and gave a study of great value, showing every point of his head, also his wing and tail development.

When the Bird Woman proposed to look for other subjects close about the line, Freckles went so far as to tell her that Jack had made fearful threats against the Angel.  He implored her to take the Angel home and keep her under unceasing guard until Jack was located.  He wanted to tell her all about it, but he knew how dear the Angel was to her, and he dreaded to burden her with his fears when they might prove groundless.  He allowed her to go, but afterward blamed himself severely for having done so.

CHAPTER XIV

Wherein Freckles Nurses a Heartache and Black Jack Drops Out

“McLean,” said Mrs. Duncan, as the Boss paused to greet her in passing the cabin, “do you know that Freckles hasna been in bed the past five nights and all he’s eaten in that many days ye could pack into a pint cup?”

“Why, what does the boy mean?” demanded McLean.  “There’s no necessity for him being on guard, with the watch I’ve set on the line.  I had no idea he was staying down there.”

“He’s no there,” said Mrs. Duncan.  “He goes somewhere else.  He leaves on his wheel juist after we’re abed and rides in close cock-crow or a little earlier, and he’s looking like death and nothing short of it.”