k to earth. Mick's voice was thick when he spoke. "We'll hunt for
the wee sowl till we drop down dead," he said.

The fear of the Kidnappers was the most urgent, so towards the
mountains they must go first. The rest started at a run that soon left
Fly behind; but they dared not wait for her, and though she did her
best to keep up they were soon out of sight. But Fly never for a
moment thought of going back. Left to herself she jogged along with
her face to the mountains. The sun, setting behind Slieve Donard,
threw an unearthly glow over the fields. The mountains looked bigger
and wilder than ever, the sky farther away. Everything seemed to know
what had happened, even the birds were still, and a silence like an
enchantment made the whole country strange.

At last, in the middle of the field, Fly stopped, with a stitch in her
side. A flaming red sky stared her in the face, a wild, unknown land
stretched away on every side. Things she had been afraid of but had
only half believed in crowded round her. She saw now that they had
been real all the time, and had only been waiting for a chance to come
out of their hiding-places. Strange faces grinned at her from the
whins, cold eyes frowned at her from the stones. In another minute
that ragged bramble would turn back into an old witch. And behind the
mountains the Kidnappers were cutting the soles off Honeybird's feet.
With a wail of anguish Fly began to run again. She was not afraid of
the fiends and witches. They might grin and frown and laugh that low,
shivering laugh behind her if they liked--her Honeybird, her own
Honeybird, was behind the mountains, alone with those awful Kidnappers.

"Almighty God, make them ould Kidnappers drop our wee Honeybird," she
wailed.

Then she stopped again. She had forgotten that Almighty God could help.

But He would not help unless He were asked properly. For a moment she
doubted the wisdom of stopping to ask. She was conscious of many
grudges against her. This very day she had promised she would not do
one naughty thing if God would let it be fine--and then had forgotten,
and played being Moses when they were bathing, and struck the sea with
a tail of seaweed to make it close over Patsy, who was Pharaoh's host.
But her trouble was so great that, perhaps, if she confessed her sin He
would forgive her this time. So she knelt down, and folded her hands.
"Almighty God," she began, "I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise a