t some of the insanity has been driven out of you!" replied
Stackridge, beginning to have hopes of him. "If you had taken my pistol
and used it freely in the first place, or at least shown a good will to
use it, you'd have proved yourself a good deal more of a man in my
estimation, and been quite as well off."

"Perhaps," murmured Penn, convinced that this passive submission to
martyrdom was but a sorry part to play.

"But now to business," said Stackridge. "You must get away as quickly
and secretly as possible, unless you mean to stay and fight it out. I am
here to help you. I have a horse in the woods here, at your disposal. I
thought there might be such a thing as your slipping through their
hands, and so I took this precaution. I will show you a bridle-road that
will take you to the house of a friend of mine, who is a hearty
Unionist. You can leave my horse with him. He will help you on to the
house of some friend of his, who will do the same, and so you will
manage to get out of the state. I advise you to travel by night, as a
general thing; but just now it seems necessary that you should see a
little hard riding by daylight. You'll find some luncheon in the
saddlebags. When you get into some pretty thick woods, leave the road,
and find a good place to tie up till night; then go on cautiously to my
friend's house. I'll give you full directions, while we're finding the
horse."

They made haste to the spot where the animal was tied.

"He has been well fed," said the farmer. "You will water him at the
first brook you cross, and let him browse when you stop. Now just trade
that coat for one that will make you look a little less like a Quaker
schoolmaster."

He had brought one of his own coats, which he made Penn put on, and then
exchanged hats with him. Penn was admirably disguised. Brief, then, were
the thanks he uttered from his overflowing heart, short the
leave-takings. He was mounted. Stackridge led the horse through the
bushes to the bridle-path.

"Now, don't let the grass grow under your feet till you are at least
five miles away. If you meet anybody, get along without words if you
can; if you can't, let words come to blows as quick as you please, and
then put faith in Dobbin's heels."

Again, for the last time, he made Penn the offer of a pistol. There was
no leisure for idle arguments on the subject. The weapon was accepted.
The two wrung each other's hands in silence: there were tears in the
eyes of