spared having to
carry out a heroic resolve. The gray-bearded man did not return,
either with or without a knife. It is true that Jack's voice could
occasionally be heard raised in distressed accents from the inside of
the shed. But unless his life was in imminent danger, even Madge did
not feel inclined to sacrifice her limbs.

"After all, it was entirely his own fault jumping over the wall," she
remarked when they had waited a long time without anything happening.

"And they don't seem to be going to kill him," observed Betty.

"And it's long past tea-time," added John.

This last consideration decided the children, and they returned to the
house without taking any further steps towards rescuing Jack.

Nothing more was heard of the missing pet that evening. The children
did not say anything about his escape, and their father happened to be
staying out rather late, so that when he came home Barton had left
work. The old man had noticed that there was only one goat in the
field when he went to drive them in for the night, but he did not waste
much time hunting for Jack, having expressed his opinion from the first
that it would be a good job when those nasty creatures either ran away
or got sent off in disgrace! He did not like any pets, regarding them
as useless creatures who ate food, gave trouble, and repaid nothing.
If he had been allowed his way the children's tame rabbits and pigeons
would all have gone into pies.

Of course there was a good deal of anxiety about Jack's fate among the
only three people at Beechgrove who knew all the facts of his
disappearance. As the hours passed by, and they actually went to bed
and got up again without hearing any news, they began to wonder if,
after all, they should never know what had become of him. When they
all went to the schoolroom, and lessons began as usual, this really
seemed rather probable. But in the middle of saying the English dates
there was a knock at the door. John noticed it first, not because his
hearing was particularly acute so much as on account of its being his
turn to say the next date--which he had forgotten.

"Do attend, John!" said Miss Thompson. "Who came after Queen Anne?
You always forget!"

"But there was a knock at the door, I am sure! Yes, there's another!"
And for once John proved to be in the right, for at that moment Captain
West entered the room.

"I'm dreadfully sorry to interrupt," he said to Miss Thompson, "for I
can