out of sight
for a while. Her father can do more than we can, and our presence
might frighten her."

Joe's cry had startled Jean and she stopped singing. Seeing him coming
toward her, she stood for a few seconds watching him. Then she turned
and fled along the path she had recently travelled, and disappeared
among the rocks.

Then it was that Douglas leaped over the fence and hastened forward,
with Empty close at his heels. For a few minutes he was guided by
Joe's voice as he called to his daughter. Then all was silent, and
though he and Empty searched long and patiently, they could not find
the missing ones.

"Well, I'll be jiggered!" Empty ejaculated, as he sat down upon a rock
to rest. "I can't make out what has happened to 'em. Guess it's not
much use huntin' any more. We'd better go home now an' git somethin'
to eat. I'm most starved."

Douglas realised that it would be useless to search any longer just
then. He would go with Empty, wait at his place until daybreak, and
then return if Joe did not reappear.

The house to which Empty led him was a humble one. A woman was
standing at the door as they approached.

"Where's Jean?" she enquired.

"Don't know," Empty replied. "She's out on the hills somewheres."

"What, ye didn't leave the poor girl there all alone, did ye?"

"Oh, her dad's with her, an' I guess he'll round her up all right. I'm
most starved, ma. Got anything good?"

Mrs. Dempster was a bright, active, talkative little body, and she bade
Douglas a hearty welcome.

"So ye'r the great wrestler, are ye?" she asked, as she offered her
visitor a chair, and then hustled about to get some food. "Empty has
told me all about ye, an' how ye defended him aginst Jake. It was
mighty good of ye, an' sez I to Empty, sez I, 'bring that man home with
ye some time, so I kin thank him fer his kindness to a poor fatherless
boy.'"

"I didn't do much, I assure you," Douglas replied. "I don't believe
Jake would have hurt him."

"No, Jake wouldn't really mean to hurt him, that's true. But ye see,
he's so big an' strong that what he might think was a little love tap
alongside of the head would knock an ox down. He doesn't intend to
hurt. But when Si Stubbles hits, he means it, an' so does Ben. My,
I'm mighty glad ye did up that skunk to-night. He deserved it all
right."

"So you've heard about that already?" Douglas asked in surprise.

Mrs. Dempster poured a cup of hot tea, brought forth