his hole. He no longer remembered the
fact that a bear had recently been sniffing at the entrance to the hollow
tree. All he had in mind was that he might be of assistance to a fellow
human being in distress.

It was pitch dark in the woods, though now and then a flash of distant
lightning came to momentarily relieve the gloom.

Jerry started in the direction he believed the sounds came from. Now and
then he paused to listen, and in this way managed to keep going straight.

"Hello! where are you?" he cried, finally, as a dreadful silence fell
upon the forest ahead, a silence that made him very anxious indeed.

Immediately a voice called out wildly:

"Oh, here I am, under this fallen tree! Please come and help me! I can't
hardly move, and I think my arm is broken. Don't leave me to die!"

"It's all right. Don't worry, for I'm not going to run away. Speak again
so I can get to you. It's awful dark under here."

The other took him at his word, and commenced to rattle on, saying all
manner of things, simply to direct his rescuer to the spot.

"It's Andy Lasher, as sure as I live," said Jerry to himself, as he
recognized the other's voice, despite the agony in it.

So making his way forward he finally came to the tree under which the
other was pinioned by some of the branches.

"I can't see you, it's so dark here. Wait!" he said aloud.

"Oh! please don't leave me now; I'll go out of my mind, sure!"

"I don't mean to; but I must have some light. Now, I happen to have the
stub of a candle in my pocket, and the wind has died out, so I think it
will burn if I stick it down low. I'll get you out somehow, Andy," said
Jerry, cheerily.

He struck a match.

"Why, is it you, Jerry?"

"Sure thing. See there, that burns all right, I guess. Now, I'll put it
here in the shelter of this stump, while I look into things."

"You won't leave me here, Jerry? You ain't that kind of a feller, I
know?"

Andy was evidently alarmed. He could not but remember that there had been
bad blood between this lad and himself for a long time. Indeed, some
recent events that were not at all to his credit, must have cropped up to
make him anxious.

"Not much. Say, you just had the escape of your life, I tell you. This
heavy limb almost hit you in falling. If it had, then it would have been
one, two three for you. You seem to be held down mostly by small
branches," observed Jerry, after he had made a critical examination.

"Do you think yo