“Why, where’s your house, Chub?” asked one of the party.

“You ain’t looking for it, is you? ’cause you can’t think to find it a-looking down.  I lives in the tree-top when weather’s good like to-night, and when it ain’t, I go into the hollow.  I’ve a better house than Guy Rivers—­he don’t take the tree at all, no how.”

“And where is his house, Chub?” was the common inquiry of all the party.  The dwarf looked at them for a few moments without speech, then with a whisper and a gesture significant of caution, replied—­

“If you’re looking for Guy, ’tain’t so easy to find him if he don’t want to be found, and you must speak softly if you hunt him, whether or no.  He’s a dark man, that Guy Rivers—­mother always said so—­and he lives a long way under the ground.”

“And can’t you show us where, Chub?  We will give you money for your service.”

“Hain’t you got ’tatoes?  Chub’s hungry—­hain’t eat nothing to-night.  Guy Rivers has plenty to eat, but he cursed Chub’s mother.”

“Well, show us where he is, and we’ll give you plenty to eat.  Plenty of potatoes and corn,” was the promise of the party.

“And build up Chub’s house that the fire burnt?  Chub lives in the tree now.  Guy Rivers’ man burnt Chub’s house, ’cause he said Chub was sassy.”

“Yes, my boy, we’ll build up your house, and give you a plenty to go upon for a year.  You shall have potatoes enough for your lifetime, if you will show us how to come upon Guy Rivers to-night.  He is a bad fellow, as you say; and we won’t let him trouble you any more, if you’ll only show us where he is to be found.”

“Well—­I reckon I can,” was the response, uttered in a confidential whisper, and much more readily given than was the wont of the speaker.  “Chub and Guy talked together to-night, and Guy wanted Chub to go with him into his house in Wolf’s Neck.  But Chub don’t love the wolf, and he don’t love the Wolf’s Neck, now that Miss Lucy’s gone away from it.  It’s a mighty dark place, the Wolf’s Neck, and Chub’s afear’d in the dark places, where the moon and stars won’t shine down.”

“But you needn’t be afraid now, little Chub.  You’re a good little fellow, and we’ll keep with you and follow close, and there shall be no danger to you.  We’ll fight Guy Rivers for you, so that he can’t hurt you any more.”

“You’ll fight Guy!  You!  Guy kin fight to kill!”

“Yes, but we’ll kill him; only you show us where he is, so that we can catch him and tie him, and he’ll never trouble Chub any more.”

“What! you’ll tie Guy?  How I’d like to see anybody tie Guy!  You kain’t tie Guy.  He’d break through the ropes, he would, if he on’y stretched out his arms.”

“You’ll see! only show us how to find him, and we’ll tie him, and we’ll build you a new house, and you shall have more potatoes and corn than you can shake a stick at, and we’ll give you a great jug of whiskey into the bargain.”