arp crack of a rifle broke upon the still, balmy air, as they say
in the "yellow-backs," and the fugitives looked at each other with
suddenly awakened dread.

"The fools!" grated the man.

"What do they mean?" cried the breathless girl, very white in the face.

"They are trying to frighten us, that's all. Hang it! If I only knew the
lay of the land. I'm completely lost, Marjory. Do you know precisely
where we are?"

"Our home is off to the north about three miles. We are almost opposite
Crow's Cliff--the wildest part of the country. There are no houses along
this part of the river. All of the summer houses are farther up or on
the other side. It is too hilly here. There is a railroad off there
about six miles. There isn't a boathouse or fisherman's hut nearer than
two miles. Mr. Bracken keeps his boat at the point--two miles south, at
least."

"Yes; that's where we were to have gone--by boat. Hang it all! Why did
we ever leave the boat? You can never scramble through all this brush to
Bracken's place; it's all I can do. Look at my arms! They are scratched
to--"

"Oh, dear! It's dreadful, Jack. You poor fellow, let me--"

"We haven't time, dearest. By thunder, I wouldn't have those Rubes head
us off now for the whole county. The jays! How could they have found us
out?"

"Some one must have told."

"But no one knew except the Brackens, you and I." "I'll wager my head
Bracken is saying hard things for fair down the river there."

"He--he--doesn't swear, Jack," she panted.

[Illustration: "'Safe for a minute or two at least,' he whispered"]

"Why, you are ready to drop! Can't you go a step farther? Let's stop
here and face 'em. I'll bluff 'em out and we'll get to Bracken's some
way. But I _won't_ give up the game! Not for a million!"

"Then we can't stop. You forget I go in for gymnasium work. I'm as
strong as anything, only I'm--I'm a bit nervous. Oh, I knew something
would go wrong!" she wailed. They were now standing like trapped deer in
a little thicket, listening for sounds of the hounds.

"Are you sorry, dear?"

"No, no! I love you, Jack, and I'll go through everything with you and
for you. Really," she cried with a fine show of enthusiasm, "this is
jolly good fun, isn't it? Being chased like regular bandits--"

"Sh! Drop down, dear! There's somebody passing above us--hear him?"

They crawled into a maze of hazel bushes with much less dignity than
haste. Two men sped by an instant later, panting a