dance for me. It would have killed you to see him," and at the
recollection the young man laughed hard.

"His boy Jim obsarved it all and told us and we laughed," said Mike, with
a grin. "The sight must have been very insthructive."

"It was, to that old codger, who won't get over his lesson for a month.
Well, as the gun wasn't of any use to me I threw it away and started to
find my friends and the boat we came on. By and by my leg began to hurt,
I suppose from walking so much and a tumble I got by catching my foot in
the root of a tree. I sat down to rest awhile and when I got up it hurt
so badly that I thought it was all up with me. You know it was night, and
somehow I had gone astray in the infernal pine woods. The wound was
bleeding, and I sat down again intending to wait till morning. By and by
I heard a dog bark so near that I climbed to my feet again and made by
way to this house. McCaffry and his wife were asleep and it took a good
deal of banging and shouting for me to wake them. But when they found out
what was the matter they took me in, and my own father and mother could
not have been kinder."

"What did they do fur yer fut?"

"The good woman not only washed the wound, but, by the light of the lamp
which her husband held, picked out every one of the shot that had been
buried there and were making the trouble. Then she bathed the hurt again
and wrapped it about with the clean linen, as you see for yourself. All
that remains is for me to keep quiet for a few days and nature will do
the rest."

"Wouldn't it be well if I got a docther fur ye?"

Noxon looked up in the face of the Irish youth, who tried to keep a grave
countenance.

"I think not," replied the sufferer.

There was a world of significance in the words, and both understood.

Strange that these two who had never met before except as the bitterest
of enemies should talk now as comrades. Mike kept pinching his clothing
and turning every side to the blaze, thus drying the garments quite
rapidly. He was so interested in the story of Noxon that he grew
careless.

"I think I see smoke coming from behind you," finally said the sitter.

Mike reached back to investigate and with a gasp snatched back his
fingers.

"I'm afire! Is there a well outside that I can dive into the same?"

"Turn around; I can help you," said Noxon, laughing, dropping his foot
and sitting forward.

Together they quenched the twist of blaze which if left alone would ha