"'Peddler?' he asked.

"'Yes,' said I.

"'What you tradin' in?'

"'Oh, silks, laces and so forth,' rejoined I, repeating my formula.

"'Humph!'

"He looked at me, narrowing his eyes.

"'You don't look much like a peddler," said he.

"'No, I've seen better days,' I said, with a sigh.

"But I could see that he was still suspicious.

"'Where'd you come from?' was his next question.

"'South,' said I.

"'Where you going?'

"'North.'

"'Ain't much on conversation, be yer?' he asked.

"'No, I'm not considered a very talkative fellow,' I rejoined.

"We lapsed into silence. The man smoked. I just sat and thought the situation over. At last supper was announced. It was eaten almost in silence. The man discouraged all his wife's efforts at conversation. He was sullen and nervous.

"More than ever did I begin to suspect that there was a still in the immediate neighborhood. Soon after supper I pleaded fatigue and was shown up a flight of stairs, or rather a ladder, to a sort of attic.

There was a husk mattress there, and a pile of rather dirty-looking blankets. But in those hills you learn to put up with what you can get.

I was glad to have found shelter at all.

"But tired as I was for some reason I couldn't sleep. I felt a sort of vague uneasiness. I heard the man get up and go out and then later on I heard several voices downstairs.

"There were broad c.h.i.n.ks in the floor, and through these I could look down. The men--there were four of them--were talking in low voices, but now and then I could catch a word. All of a sudden I heard one say something about government spy.

"That gave me a shock, I can tell you. I knew then they were talking about me. My predicament was a bad one if they suspected me. I began to look about me for a way to get out. While doing this I occasionally looked down below.

"The last time I looked I got a shock that made my hair stand. The fellows were moving about the room. From one corner one of them got a formidable-looking knife.

"Scared to death, I redoubled my efforts to find a way out. At last at one end of the room I found a chimney, one of those big stone affairs as big as all outdoors. I decided to try this.

"I found that it was rough inside, and I had not much difficulty in clambering up it. I was near the top when I heard a voice from the room below say:

"'Then we uns 'ull kill him right now.'

"'Yep, he's lived long enough. He's no good.'

"My heart jumped into my mouth. I redoubled my efforts and emerged from the top of the chimney. Reaching it, I lowered myself to the roof as gently as possible.

"The eaves came down low to the ground and I had not much difficulty in making my escape noiselessly."

CHAPTER XXV.

THE WREN DISAPPEARS.

"But as I reached the ground a startling thing happened. I missed my footing and found myself rolling down a steepish bank. At the bottom I fetched up against an odd-looking little hut almost overgrown with bushes. It was bright moonlight and the door was open.

"Inside was a fire, and by its light I could see that the place was empty of human life, but that a collection of objects already familiar to me almost filled it.

"It was an illicit still!

"Clearly enough, also, it was operated by my hosts up above.

"I listened for sounds of pursuit, but heard none. Possibly they had not yet crept into my room to perform their horrible resolve.

"Suddenly the silence was broken by appalling yells and screams. My hair bristled for an instant and then I burst into a laugh.

"It was a pig that I heard. At the same instant it dawned on me that it was the pig that they had been discussing dispatching and not me at all.

You can imagine the revulsion of my feelings. But I felt sore at the scare they had given me, so I decided to do some work for the government and even up scores at the same time.

"Entering the shack, I scattered the coals of the fire right and left.

Then I came away. No, I did _not_ go back to the cabin. It would, as your friend Jeb said, not have been healthy for me.

"Instead I set off running at top speed through the woods. Before long I saw a glow on the sky behind me, and knew that flames were devouring the vile stuff that moonshiners make.

"I left my pack behind me, however, and I hope that compensated them for the loss of their still. I'm sure the woman, at any rate, would value its contents more highly."

They all burst into a laugh at the conclusion of Mr. Parker's odd story.

They were still laughing when Mandy rushed out on the porch.

"Miss Wren done be gone!" she shouted.

"Gone!" they all echoed, in dismayed tones.

"Yes. I done go to her room to see de poo' lamb is com'foble, and she not there. I done find dis writin', too."

"Let me look at it," demanded Mr. Parker.

"It mighty hard to read. It sure is a scan-lous bit of writin'."

With this comment the colored woman handed over to her master a bit of dirty wrapping paper.