the dogs away, and
Bob grumbling lustily over the ill luck which met him at every turn.

At last, when they had grown so cold that they could scarcely talk,
and Lester began to be really afraid that he should freeze to death,
the gray streaks of dawn appeared in the east. Shortly afterward the
door of the nearest cabin opened, and a negro came out and stood on
the steps, stretching his arms and yawning.

"It's the luckiest thing that ever happened to us," said Bob,
speaking only after a great effort. "That's the hostler. He knows me
and will help us if anybody will. Say, Sam," he added, raising his
voice. "Sam!"

"Who dar?" asked the negro, looking all around, as if he could not
make up his mind where the voice came from. "Who's dat callin' Sam?"

"It's me. Here I am, up here on top of this cabin," replied Bob,
slapping the shingles with his open hand to show the negro where he
was.

"Wal, if dat ain't de beatenest thing!" exclaimed Sam. "What you two
gemmen doin' up dar?"

"O, we were coming through here last night, taking a short cut
through the fields, you know, and the dogs discovered us and drove us
up here."

"I thought I heerd 'em fursin," said Sam; "but I thought mebbe they'd
done cotch a 'coon."

"Well, call 'em off and let us go home," exclaimed Lester,
impatiently.

"Dat's impossible, dat is. Dem dar dogs don't keer no mo' fur us
black uns dan nuffin, dem dogs don't. Can't call 'em off, kase why,
dey won't mind us. Have to go arter some of de white folks, suah!"

"Go on and get somebody, then, and be quick about it," said Bob,
desperately. "And, Sam, if you can find Bert send him down. We want
to see him particularly, and it will save us walking up to the
house."

The negro went back into his cabin, but came out again a few minutes
later and started up the road toward the house.

CHAPTER XVII.

CONCLUSION.

Bob and his companion were so utterly disheartened, and so nearly
overcome with the cold, that they no longer looked upon exposure as
the worst thing that could happen to them. They had made up their
minds that it could not be avoided, and told themselves that the
sooner it was over and they were allowed to leave their airy perch
the sooner they would breathe easily again. They could not talk now.
They could only sit and gaze in the direction in which the hostler
had disappeared, and wait for somebody to come and call off the dogs.
Bob hoped _that_ somebody would be Bert. He w