ion. "I'll have to go somewheres else or they'll sure cotch
me!"

Bewildered and frightened Jamie looked wildly about him. Then he
bethought himself of the compass in his pocket. Eagerly drawing it
forth he held it in his hand and studied its face.

"The Bay's to the suth'ard, whatever," he calculated. "If the Bay's to
the suth'ard the brook's to the east'ard. I'll be lettin' the compass
pilot me to the east'ard. 'Twill take me the right direction
whatever."

Levelling the compass carefully in his hand so that the needle swung
freely he found the east, and as rapidly as his little legs would
carry him set out again in his effort to escape the two sleeping men
and to find camp and his friends.

At intervals he stopped to consult his compass. Then he would hurry
forward again as fast as ever he could go through the snow, looking
behind him fearfully, half expecting each time to see the men in close
pursuit, and always with the dread that a gruff voice in the rear
would command him to halt, or that a rifle bullet would be sent after
him without warning.

As time passed and there was no indication that he was followed, Jamie
began to feel some degree of security. Because of the storm it was
unlikely that the men would venture upon the Bay. They had kept late
hours drinking at the bottle, and unless they were awakened by the
cold they would in all probability sleep late and therefore not
discover his absence until the thickly falling snow had so far covered
his trail as to preclude the possibility of them following it with
certainty.

With his mind more or less relieved on this point, Jamie suddenly
realized that he was hungry. It was nearing midday. He had eaten
nothing for twenty-four hours, and he had the normal appetite of a
healthy boy. The snow had perceptibly increased in depth since his
escape from the lean-to, and walking was correspondingly hard. He was
so hungry and so weary that at length he could scarcely force one
foot ahead of the other.

The wind was rising, and in crossing an open frozen marsh the snow
drifted before the gale in clouds so dense as to be suffocating. The
storm was attaining the proportions of a blizzard, and when Jamie
again reached the shelter of the forest beyond the marsh he found it
necessary to stop to rest and regain his breath.

"'Twill never do to try to cross another mesh," he decided. "I'm like
to be overcome with un and perish before I finds my way out of un to
the timb