em even; so I hit upon the plan of
taking a bit of rope from the pile of plunder and hitching Kaiser to
the sacks, and so in that way we got them, one by one, to the barn at
last and let them out, all cramped and ruffled. Kaiser was so proud of
his work that he set up a bark which started the broncos into another
fit of snorting.

I think if there had been one more member of my family lost that I
could have done nothing for it that night, my ankle was in such a
state. I tried bathing it in hot water, and before I went to bed I had
it fairly parboiled, which seemed greatly to relieve it. I was too
tired to go across the drawbridge to my room, so I stretched out on
the lounge in the office, not much caring if all the robbers in
Christendom came. But I could not help wondering at my strange
Christmas; and half the night I heard the wolves howling round the
blacksmith shop and looking up (I knew) at Crazy Jane; but I thought
they might as well howl around the gilt chicken on a weather-vane for
all the good it would do them.

CHAPTER XII

One of my Letters to my Mother, in which I tell of many Things and
especially of a Mystery which greatly puzzles and alarms me.

Here I am going to put in the letter which I wrote to my mother a week
from the next day after my strange Christmas, to show that I did write
her long letters every Sunday, as I have said; though of course it was
many weeks before she got this or the others:

TRACK'S END, _Sunday, January 2d._

MY DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER,--I have written you so much bad news since
I have been in this dreadful place that I am very glad to send you
some good news at last, and that is that my ankle, of which I wrote
you last Sunday, is all well. I kept up the hot-water applications and
by the next morning it was so much better that I could walk on it. I
hope I may not turn it again.

I don't know as there is much other good news to write, except that it
is good news, and maybe quite strange news, that I am still alive at
all in such a place. I am getting along better with the cooking,
though I am beginning to long for some fresh meat. The cow still gives
a good mess of milk, and I now get three or four fresh eggs a day;
thanks to the warm food which I give the hens, I guess. I do not
believe that Crazy Jane has laid an egg since her night on the
chimney, and I'm almost afraid she caught cold, as she has not had a
genuine fight with anot