here
had been evening trains. He thought of Jimmy's frequent threat to go
away. He dismissed that thought grimly. There had been no talk of going
away lately, and he knew that Jimmy had little money. Dannie started
for home, and for a rod on either side he searched the path. As he came
to the back of the barns, he rated himself for not thinking of them
first. He searched both of them, and all around them, and then wholly
tired, and greatly disgusted, he went home and to bed. He decided that
Jimmy HAD gone to Mrs. Dolan's and that kindly woman had relented and
taken him in. Of course that was where he was.

Dannie was up early in the morning. He wanted to have the work done
before Mary and Jimmy came home. He fed the stock, milked, built a
fire, and began cleaning the stables. As he wheeled the first barrow of
manure to the heap, he noticed a rooster giving danger signals behind
the straw-stack. At the second load it was still there, and Dannie went
to see what alarmed it.

Jimmy lay behind the stack, where he had fallen face down, and as
Dannie tried to lift him he saw that he would have to cut him loose,
for he had frozen fast in the muck of the barnyard. He had pitched
forward among the rough cattle and horse tracks and fallen within a few
feet of the entrance to a deep hollow eaten out of the straw by the
cattle. Had he reached that shelter he would have been warm enough and
safe for the night.

Horrified, Dannie whipped out his knife, cut Jimmy's clothing loose and
carried him to his bed. He covered him, and hitching up drove at top
speed for a doctor. He sent the physician ahead and then rushed to Mrs.
Dolan's. She saw him drive up and came to the door.

"Send Mary home and ye come too," Dannie called before she had time to
speak. "Jimmy lay oot all last nicht, and I'm afraid he's dead."

Mrs. Dolan hurried in and repeated the message to Mary. She sat
speechless while her sister bustled about putting on her wraps.

"I ain't goin'," she said shortly. "If I got sight of him, I'd kill him
if he wasn't dead."

"Oh, yis you are goin'," said Katy Dolan. "If he's dead, you know, it
will save you being hanged for killing him. Get on these things of mine
and hurry. You got to go for decency sake; and kape a still tongue in
your head. Dannie Micnoun is waiting for us."

Together they went out and climbed into the carriage. Mary said
nothing, but Dannie was too miserable to notice.

"You didn't find him thin, last