a Baptist, and the first principle
of her religion was personal faith and direct relations of the
individual soul with God. She remembered her own hours of torture in
childhood.

"All right, Boy," she said graciously. "Be good now, while we're gone."

His big toe was digging in the dirt while he murmured:

"Yes'm."

The wagon had no sooner disappeared than he and Austin were flying with
swift bare feet along the path that led to the creek. It was the hottest
day of the spring--a close air and broiling sun to be remembered longer
than the hottest day of August.

They ran for a mile without a pause, rolled in the sand on the banks of
the creek and shouted their joy in perfect freedom. They explored the
deep cane brakes and stalked imaginary buffaloes and bears without
number, encountering nothing bigger than a grey fox and a couple of
muskrats.

"Let's cross over!" Austin cried. "I saw a bear track on that side one
day. We can trail him to his den and show him to your Pap when he comes
home. Here's a log!"

The Boy looked dubiously, measured it with his eye, and shook his head.

"Nope--it's too little and too high in the air--it'll wobble," he
declared.

"But we can coon it over!" Austin urged. "We can grab hold of a limb
over there and slide down--it's easy--come on!"

Before he could make further objection, the young adventurer quickly
straddled the swaying pole, and, with the agility of a cat, hopped
across, grasped one of the limbs and slipped to the sand.

"Come on!" he shouted. "See how easy it is!"

The Boy looked doubtfully at the swaying sapling and wished he had gone
to hear that preacher after all. It would never do to say he was afraid.
The other fellow had done it so quickly. And it was no use to argue with
Austin that his legs were shorter, his body more compact and so much
easier to hold his balance. The idea of cowardice was something too vile
for thought. The Boy felt that he was doomed to fall before he moved
but he waved a brave little hand in answer:

"All right, I'm comin'!"

Half way across the pole began to tear its roots from the bluff. He felt
it sinking, stopped and held his breath as it suddenly broke with a
crash and fell.

"Look out! Hold tight!" Austin yelled.

He did his best, but lost his balance and toppled head downward into the
deep still water.

His mouth flew open at the first touch of the chill stream; he gasped
for breath and drew into his lungs a strangling f