D

At the beginning of the fight, Hugh wakened from a troubled sleep into
which he had fallen, wearied with fruitless efforts to break the lock
of the door. One thought was ever in his mind, even in his dream:
to escape. For this purpose he had clawed away a wide chink in the
log walls, he had even dug under the threshold---without avail.

Nevertheless, he was glad to be active and thankful that he had been
unbound before his captors went away, leaving him a prisoner in the
shanty until they were ready to release him. Joe Durgan had even
been considerate enough to leave a half loaf of bread and a glass
of beer on the table; but Hugh declined these delicacies.

All during the fight he crouched by the locked door, listening in
alternate hope and dread of the outcome, now and then raising his
voice amid the din and confusion outside. It was perhaps not
strange that none of his friends heard him, for his shouts only
mingled with those of the smugglers and were lost in the general
clamor.

But they were heard by one man, who, though not exactly a friend,
was yet an amiable enemy.

In the midst of the conflict, when the Revenue Service men had
arrived to turn the tide of fortune, the door was quickly opened
and shut, and a man stood in the room, panting hard.

Hugh sprang to his feet, ready for any new emergency.

"What are you-all doin' thar, youngster?" said a voice in the
darkness, a deep voice which Hugh recognized as Durgan's.

"Trying to get out, of course," he replied defiantly, every nerve
in his young body tingling with excitement. "What did you expect
me to do, Durgan?"

"Eh? Oh, nothin'. Thought you might ha' gone to sleep like a good
little boy."

The man's harsh laugh sounded hollow and unpleasant. Hugh shuddered.

"I was asleep," he said, "but when----"

"Real unkind o' your friends to wake you up, eh?" interrupted Durgan.
His hand stole behind him. With a quick turn he opened the door,
and admitted some one. "Come in, Harry," he said. "The kid's here,
all right. What did I tell you?"

"That so?" growled Harry Mole. "Well, we know who he is now.
Somebody tipped off the officers about the run we was goin' to
make to-night; and since it wasn't this kid, it must-a been one of
his bunch. Shall we heave him into the stream, Joe, or leave
him here?"

"Not on your life!" Durgan replied promptly. "He's caught on to too
much about us while he's been here, and he can tell those ginks a