your brother has tried to escape. I do not know
anything about him. I did think that he might be Muriel, the
moonshiner."

Kate laughed.

"You-uns war plumb mistooken thar," she said, positively. "Rufe is not
Muriel."

"Then," cried Frank, "you are Muriel yourself!"

Kate Kenyon seemed astounded.

"Have you-uns gone plumb dafty?" asked the girl, in a dazed way. "Me
Muriel! Wal, that beats all!"

"But you are--I am sure of it," said Frank, swiftly.

The girl laughed.

"Well, that beats me! Of course I'm not Muriel; but he's ther best
friend I've got in these maountings."

Frank was far from satisfied, but he was too courteous to insist after
this denial. Kate laughed the idea to scorn, saying over and over that
the boy must be "dafty," but still his mind was unchanged.

To be sure, there were some things not easily explained, one being how
Muriel concealed her luxurious red hair, for Muriel's hair appeared to
be coal-black.

Another thing was that Wade Miller must know Muriel and Kate were one
and the same, and yet he preserved her secret and allowed her to snatch
his victims from his maws.

Barney Mulloy had been more than astounded by Frank's words; the Irish
youth was struck dumb. When he could collect himself, he softly
muttered:

"Well, av all th' oideas thot takes th' cake!"

Having seen them safely within the mill and shown them the food brought
there, Kate said:

"Har is two revolvers fer you-uns. Don't use 'em unless yer have ter,
but shoot ter kill ef you're forced."

"Begorra! Oi'm ready fer th' spalpanes!" cried Barney, as he grasped one
of the weapons. "Let thim come on!"

"I feel better myself," declared Frank. "Next time Wade Miller and his
gang will not catch us napping."

"Roight, me b'y; we'll be sound awake, Frankie."

Kate bade them good-by, assuring them that she would return with the
coming of another night, and making them promise to await her, and then
she flitted away, slipped out of the mill, soon vanishing amid the
pines.

"It's dead lucky we are ter be living, Frankie," observed Barney.

"I quite agree with you," laughed Merriwell. "This night has been a
black and tempestuous one, but we have lived through it, and I do not
believe we'll find ourselves in such peril again while we are in the
Tennessee mountains."

They were hungry, and they ate heartily of the plain food that had been
provided for them.

When breakfast was over, Barney said:

"Frankie, it's of