details, as people do whose range of thought is not
wide. The morning twilight was gray in the room when a noise outside
caught their attention.

"Dan! I know his step," cried Rachel in a joyous tone, springing to open
the door.

Lucy and the children fled to shelter behind the stairway door, and
remained there to hear without being seen. Dan stumbled in with an
exhausted air, and dropped into a chair.

"Hasn't Gus come?" he asked.

"No, where is he?" cried Babette excitedly. "You didn't leave him alone
with the thing, did you?"

Dan smiled.

"The 'thing', as you call it, was poor old Murfree. He got out of bed
while the nurse was asleep, and has been wandering around enough to kill
a well person. I did not know who I was following for a long time, for
sure, but I suspected it was Murfree when I saw he was undressed. He led
me an odd chase, I tell you!"

"Oh, tell us all about it!" piped up Tilly from the stairway.

Dan looked towards it, then broke into a laugh, perhaps the first real
mirthful sound that had passed his lips since his brother's death. It
made Rachel's heart beat faster with joy and surprise.

"All right!" he said. "I will. It don't seem like a sick man could do
it, but he did. He struck out for the Works as soon as I got outside and
I after him. Didn't you hear him shriek. He was quite a ways ahead, and
I let him keep so. Soon as I was sure about him I knew I oughn't to
frighten him by waking him too sudden."

"Why, was he asleep?" This from Rufie.

"Sure! But what he did was the queerest. He began dodging in and out
around the sheds, and every now and then he'd stoop and seem to be
fixing something. Then he'd motion like he was lightin' a match. I kept
back and watched him. I knew by this time he was either doing over
something he'd done before which had come to him in a dream, or else
somebody had hypnotized him. He moved just like a machine. I kept
thinking he'd drop, for it seemed as if he must be worn out, but he
didn't for a long time."

"But where was Gus all this while?" asked Babette.

"I don't know. I think he went some other way. I didn't see him again
till Murfree had led me along opposite of Dodge's cow-shed. As long as
the man was making for home I wouldn't disturb him. But right there what
I expected happened. He fell in a dead faint. And just then, mighty
luckily for me, Gus came up. We couldn't manage him alone, so we called
up Jim Dodge out of bed, and he helped us get