fear, nor did he reflect
upon the risk caused by leaving the door unlocked behind him. He was
thinking only of that loved knife.

He had walked to and from the store so many times that he knew every step
taken earlier in the evening. It was impossible to go wrong, and he was
quite confident of finding the knife unless the brilliant moonlight had
disclosed it to some late passerby.

Jim always crossed the street at a certain point, the post office being
on the other side, so he trod in his own footsteps, which would have worn
a path long before but for those of others, including horses and wagons.
He walked slowly, scanning every inch of the ground and clay pavement in
front of him, but when he drew near the well-remembered building he had
not caught sight of the prize. He was within a few paces of the steps of
the porch of the store, when he was suddenly startled by a gruff voice:

"Hello, there! Where you going?"

He turned his head as a man stepped from under the small elm behind him.
Both being on the same level the slouch hat only partially hid the grim
face and big mustache. Jim would have been more scared had he not caught
sight an instant before of his knife lying at the foot of the steps of
the porch. He sprang forward, caught it up and then faced the stranger,
who had stepped into the street.

"I'm looking fur my knife that I dropped and I've found it too!" he
replied gleefully, holding up the cool, shiny implement. "Gee! aint I
lucky?"

"Well, you get out of here as quick as you can. Go back home and stay
there till morning. Do ye hear me?"

"Yaws; I'm going."

A strange discovery had come to Jim the instant before. As he stooped to
seize his property, his eyes were at the same height as the bottom of the
door leading into the store. It was only for a second or two, but in that
brief space he saw a faint glimmer through the crevice, which he knew was
caused by a light within. With a shrewdness that no one would have
expected from him he said nothing of his discovery to the man who had
accosted him.

"Mind what I told you!" added the stranger, "and don't show your nose
outside your house before morning. Understand?"

"Yaws; I don't want to, 'cause I've got my knife. Hooray!"

"Shut up! Off with you!"

"Yaws;" and Jim broke into a trot which he kept up until he reached his
own porch. In his exuberance of spirits, he was careless and awoke his
father. He came into the hall and roared out a demand f