o me--I have tried not to fail
you there, Katherine!"

Then Truedale reached for the bottle. He took a swallow of the contents
and waited! Presently he took another and a thrill of exhilaration
stirred his sluggish blood. Weakly, gropingly, he stretched his benumbed
hand out again; he was well on his way now. The long journey was begun
in the moonlight and, strange to say, it did not grow dark, nor did he
seem to be alone. This surprised him vaguely, he had always expected it
would be so different!

And by and by one face alone confronted him--it was brighter than the
moonlit way. It smiled understandingly--it, too, had faced the broad
highway--it could afford to smile.

Once more the heavy, dead-cold hand moved toward the stand beside the
bed, but it fell nerveless ere it reached what it sought.

The escape had been achieved!

CHAPTER V

The days passed and, unfettered, Jim White remained in the deep woods.
After Nella-Rose's disturbing but thrilling advent, Truedale rebounded
sharply and, alone in his cabin, brought himself to terms. By a rigid
arraignment he relegated, or thought he had relegated, the whole matter
to the realm of things he should not have permitted, but which had done
no real harm. He brought out the heavy book on philosophy and
endeavoured to study. After a few hours he even resorted to the wet
towel, thinking that suggestion might assist him, but Nella-Rose
persistently and impishly got between his eyes and the pages and flouted
philosophy by the magic of her superstition and bewitching charm.

Then Truedale attacked his play, viciously, commandingly. This was more
successful. He reconstructed his plot somewhat--he let Nella-Rose in!
Curbed and somewhat re-modelled, she materialized and, while he dealt
strictly with her, writing was possible.

So the first day and night passed. On the second day Truedale's new
strength demanded exercise and recreation. He couldn't be expected to
lock himself in until White returned to chaperone him. After all, there
was no need of being a fool. So he packed a gunny sack with food and a
book or two, and sallied forth, after providing generously for the live
stock and calling the dogs after him.

But Truedale was unaware of what was going on about him. Pine Cone
Settlement had, since the trap episode, been tense and waiting. Not many
things occurred in the mountains and when they did they were made the
most of. With significant silence the friends