tops
at the brightening sky to the eastward and thinking that _now_, surely,
their fate must be drawing very nigh, the little fellow by his side
stirred uneasily, roused himself, and once more put the stereotyped
question:

"_Now_, father, when do you think they will come and set us free?"

Gaunt, with their probable fate now apparently so near at hand, was
debating within himself what answer to return, when his attention was
arrested by a curious vibrating movement of his bonds, as though they
were being tampered with from behind the tree to which he was bound; and
ere he could collect his faculties sufficiently to even ask himself what
it meant, a low whisper from behind him caught his ear:

"Hush! it is I--Henderson!"

And at the same instant the ropes which bound him suddenly slackened
about his limbs and disappeared behind him. Then an arm appeared round
the bole of the tree, and Gaunt felt the cold barrel of a rifle being
thrust into his hand, whilst the voice again whispered:

"Your own repeater fully loaded. Now to loose poor little Percy."

Then Gaunt turned to his child--how white and haggard the dear little
fellow looked in the pallid light of the dawn--and, with a heart brimful
of gratitude to God for His priceless gift of restored freedom, said, in
reply to his question:

"_Very_ soon, now, my precious darling--now, _at once_, in fact. But
Percy, dear boy, take care that you do not move or cry out when you feel
the rope loosening; stand perfectly still and quiet, my son, until I
tell you what to do."

The little fellow looked eagerly up into his father's face, and
whispered, "Yes, father." And then Gaunt saw his look of surprise as he
felt Henderson's hand releasing him. The bonds fell away; the child was
free; and presently Gaunt saw a shadowy figure bend forward and whisper
in the little fellow's ear. There was a start, a faint cry of rapture,
the little arms were flung lovingly round the neck of the bending
figure, and Gaunt caught the murmured words:

"Thank you, dear doctor, oh, _thank you_!" followed by the soft sound of
a kiss.

But that childish involuntary cry of delight, faint as it was, had
caught the quick ear of the dozing guard; the fellow raised his head,
and, seeing that something was wrong--though he was still too drowsy to
distinguish what it was--scrambled to his feet and advanced toward
Gaunt. Up to that moment the engineer had not moved; he was waiting for
the blood