ought not be mixed up in
any dirty business. I wish to God I was out of this!"

Freckles answered heartily: "I wish I was, too!"

Jack stared at him a minute and then broke into a roar of rough
laughter.

"Blest if I blame you," he said. "But you had your chance! We offered
you a fair thing and you gave Wessner his answer. I ain't envying you
when he gives you his."

"You're six to one," answered Freckles. "It will be easy enough for you
to be killing the body of me, but, curse you all, you can't blacken me
soul!"

"Well, I'd give anything you could name if I had your honesty," said
Jack.

When the mighty tree fell, the Limberlost shivered and screamed with the
echo. Freckles groaned in despair, but the gang took heart. That was
so much accomplished. They knew where to dispose of it safely, with
no questions asked. Before the day was over, they could remove three
others, all suitable for veneer and worth far more than this. Then they
would leave Freckles to Wessner and scatter for safety, with more money
than they had ever hoped for in their possession.

CHAPTER XIII

Wherein the Angel Releases Freckles, and the Curse of Black Jack Falls
upon Her

On the line, the Angel gave one backward glance at Black Jack, to see
that he had returned to his work. Then she gathered her skirts above her
knees and leaped forward on the run. In the first three yards she passed
Freckles' wheel. Instantly she imagined that was why he had insisted on
her coming by the trail. She seized it and sprang on. The saddle was
too high, but she was an expert rider and could catch the pedals as
they came up. She stopped at Duncan's cabin long enough to remedy this,
telling Mrs. Duncan while working what was happening, and for her to
follow the east trail until she found the Bird Woman, and told her that
she had gone after McLean and for her to leave the swamp as quickly as
possible.

Even with her fear for Freckles to spur her, Sarah Duncan blanched and
began shivering at the idea of facing the Limberlost. The Angel looked
her in the eyes.

"No matter how afraid you are, you have to go," she said. "If you don't
the Bird Woman will go to Freckles' room, hunting me, and they will have
trouble with her. If she isn't told to leave at once, they may follow
me, and, finding I'm gone, do some terrible thing to Freckles. I can't
go--that's flat--for if they caught me, then there'd be no one to go
for help. You don't suppose they are going