"but you didn't
hear me. You are deaf."

"Wa'al, I may be a _little_ hard o' hearing, young feller," admitted the
man, "but I hain't deef by a dum sight."

Jack didn't argue the point, but followed him to the house, where a
pleasant-faced woman soon prepared a piping hot breakfast. As he ate and
drank, Jack inquired the way to Musky Bay.

"It ain't far," the woman told him, "five miles or so."

"Can I get anyone to drive me back there?" asked Jack, who was pretty
well tired out by this time.

"Oh, yes; Abner will drive you over fer a couple of dollars."

She hurried out to tell her husband to hitch up. Jack could hear her
shouting her directions in the yard.

"All right. No need uv speaking so loud. I kin hear ye," Jack could hear
the deaf man shouting back. "I kin hear ye."

"Just think," said the woman when she came back into the kitchen, where
Jack had eaten, "Abner won't admit he's deef one bit. At church on
Sundays he listens to the sermon just as if he understood it. If anyone
asks him what it was about, he'll tell 'um that he doesn't care to
discuss the new minister, but he's not such a powerful exhorter as the
old one. He's mighty artful, is Abner."

The rig was soon ready and Jack was on his homeward way. To his
annoyance, Abner proved very talkative and required answers to all his
remarks.

"Gracious, I'll have no lungs left if I have to shout this way all the
way home," thought Jack. "It'll be Husky Bay. If ever I drive with Abner
again, I'll bring along some cough lozenges."

"Must be pretty tough to be really, down-right deef," remarked Abner,
after Jack had roared out answers to him for a mile and a half.

"It must be," yelled Jack.

"Yes, sir-ee," rejoined Abner, wagging his head. "I'm just a trifle that
er-way, and it bothers me quite a bit sometimes, 'specially in damp
weather. Gid-ap!"

CHAPTER XVIII.

BILL SNIGGERS DECIDES.

We left Billy Raynor in a most unpleasant position. With escape from the
cave within his grasp the way was blocked, it will be recalled, by some
wild beast, the nature of which Billy did not know. His torch, made from
the withered bush that was responsible for his dilemma, was burning low.
Just in front of him glowed two luminous green eyes.

While Billy stood there hesitating, the creature gave another of its
alarming growls. Hardly thinking what he was doing, Billy, startled by a
shrill caterwaul, which followed the growl, flung his lighted torch fu