ow chasm, they saw
something that put new life and hope into his despairing heart.

A few yards from where he lay, evidently blown there by the storm that
had just passed, were three or four prairie-chickens, huddled together,
with drenched plumage, their lives drowned out of them.

The trench had been filled with water by the tremendous fall of rain,
which had now soaked away through the fissures in its bottom, and the
chickens had lodged against some unevenness of surface, as the water
subsided.

Jimmy descended into the gap and quickly secured one of the birds; then
he looked about for some means of cooking it. He was ravenously hungry,
but could he eat raw meat?

CHAPTER XXVII.

Lottie was startled out of her self-possession by Mr. Highton's speech
to his wife. She turned quickly, and stretching out an imploring hand
toward her, begged her not to go.

But Mrs. Highton, with a coarse laugh, exclaimed, "Oh, you needn't be
afraid. He ain't a-goin' to hurt you!" and walked out of the room.

There were a few whispered words between man and wife before the woman
left the house, and while these were being said, Lottie's courage was
coming back, and when Mr. Highton came in he found her seated composedly
upon the lounge, with Eva nestled close to her side.

He threw himself into the arm-chair which his wife had vacated, and sat
for some minutes eying Lottie from under his shaggy eye-brows, without
speaking. Then he shifted in his seat, crossed one leg over the other
and said, in an insinuating tone.

"You seem to hev a very poor opinion of me, miss."

Lottie made no reply to this, and he continued, more roughly:

"You think I had a hand in your brother's runnin' off. How did you come
by sech an idea as that?"

"I have already told you that I know _some one_ persuaded him to go. No
one but you could have had any object in doing that," replied Lottie,
steadily.

"Wal, I declare! What did _I_ want the boy to run off fer?" asked Mr.
Highton, in pretended surprise, while an angry flush rose to his cheek.

"I can't answer that question."

"Wal, it's best not to throw out insinerations that you can't prove. An'
it will be all the better fer you, if you make up your mind to be
friendly with me. Because, if you ain't, you'll find yourself in a
middlin' bad box before very long. My wife an' me, we wants to be
friendly, an' is willin' to do the best we kin fer you; that's what we
come over this morning to talk abo