dark," added Jacob, as he departed.

But Harry was determined not to go to bed in the dark; so, as soon as
he heard Jacob's step on the floor below, he crept to the stairway,
and silently descended. He had made up his mind not to wait for the
bull-dog. Pausing in the entry, he heard Jacob tell his wife that he
was going over to Leman's to borrow his dog; he was afraid the boy
would get up in the night and set his barn on fire, or run away. Jacob
then left the house, satisfied, no doubt, that the bull-dog would be
an efficient sentinel while the family were asleep.

After allowing time enough to elapse for Jacob to reach Leman's house,
he softly opened the front door and went out. It was fortunate for him
that Mrs. Wire was as "deaf as a post," or his suddenly matured plan
to "try again" might have been a failure. As it was, his departure was
not observed. It was quite dark, and after he had got a short distance
from the house, he felt a reasonable degree of security.

His first purpose was to get as far away from Redfield as possible
before daylight should come to betray him; and, taking the road, he
walked as fast as his legs would carry him towards Boston. Jacob's
house was on the turnpike, which was the direct road to the city, and
the distance which the squire had carried him in his wagon was so much
clear gain.

He did not feel very sentimental now. The sky was overshadowed with
clouds, so that he could not see any stars, and the future did not
look half so bright as his fancy had pictured it on the preceding
night. But he was free again; and free under more favorable
circumstances than before. This time he was himself commander of the
expedition, and was to suffer for no one's bad generalship but his
own. Besides, the experience he had obtained was almost a guarantee of
success. It had taught him the necessity of care and prudence.

The moral lesson he had learned was of infinitely more value than even
the lesson of policy. For the first time in his life he was conscious
of a deep and earnest desire to be a good boy, and to become a true
man. As he walked along, he thought more of being a good man than of
being a rich man. It was very natural for him to do so, under the
circumstances, for he had come very near being punished as an
incendiary. The consequences of doing wrong were just then strongly
impressed upon his mind, and he almost shuddered to think he had
consented to remain with Ben Smart after he kn