hild's scream rang out.

Steve bounded forward at first with joy, and then as scream after
scream followed, with the unmistakable agony of fear in the cry,
forgetting his deadly weariness he ran swiftly in the direction of the
sound, dropping the fox skin as he ran. In a breathless moment he came
in sight of a good sized tree, and hanging from a high limb by the
skirt of her dress was a little girl, head downward.

Steve saw in an instant that she could not help herself, and that she
might fall to her death any moment. He did not pause or hesitate. Up
the tree he went, his bare feet clinging to the sides, up and up in a
twinkling, then he carefully crept out upon the limb and drew the
little girl safely up beside him.

"Oh," she said when she had recovered her equilibrium and gotten her
breath, "I thank you so much," and even then Steve was conscious that
he had never seen anything so pretty in all his life as the blue eyes
which looked up into his, and the soft yellow curls which framed her
little face. But he hurried to get her down safely. With infinite care
he helped her until she could go on down the tree alone, and then, he
did not know what happened, but things suddenly seemed to whirl round
and he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

The next he knew some one was wiping his face with a damp cloth and
chafing his hands. He was too tired to open his eyes and see who it
was. Then a woman's voice was saying in a worried but gentle tone:

"What were you doing in the tree, Nancy? You know I don't like for you
to climb trees."

"Why, mother," replied a frightened little voice, "I found a poor
little birdie out of its nest, and I pinned it up tight in my apron
pocket and carried it up the tree and put it into the nest. The father
and mother bird were so worried about it. I didn't know I was going to
fall, and make this boy fall too, and hurt himself so bad," and the
small voice broke pitifully.

"You never should have tried to do such a thing," said her mother
firmly, and then as the little voice went into sobs, Steve opened his
eyes in a brave effort to try to assure them he was all right.

"Oh, I'm so glad you are better," exclaimed the woman who knelt beside
him.

She looked so kind and nice that Steve struggled to get up and further
reassure her, but there seemed weights holding him down and a sharp
pain thrust through and through his left arm.

"I am afraid you have broken your arm," said the wom