"You are not my father and I wish that neither my mother nor I had ever seen you. You made her life miserable, wasted the money my father had left her, ill-treated and abused her and then showed yourself what you were, a burglar and thief! Is it any wonder that my mother should want to take her first husband's name again when we moved as far away as we could from the scene of your evil deeds?"

"Maybe not," said the other carelessly. "Have you any money, Jack? I would like to have some to get me to the nearest seaport town."

"You said you were going west."

"Well, to some good and far away town, then. That will do."

"I have very little money with me but I could get it if I thought you would go away never to see my mother again. There is little use in asking you to promise for you have promised before."

"I saw you this time only by accident, Jack," replied the man. "Never mind. I will go so far away this time that you will never see me. So you would help me, would you?" with an odd smile.

"Only to keep you away from my mother," Jack answered. "You never did me any good and I have no reason to like you. If I helped you it would be for my mother's sake alone."

"And you are a prisoner here, so that you will not be able to pa.s.s the examinations?" asked the other carelessly.

"Yes, so it seems, but I do not mean to be kept here."

"You can get away now, Jack, if you wish it," said the other in a low tone. "I'll do that much for you for all that you don't do things for me on my own account. Do you wish to leave here?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then I will help you get away, will go with you till everything is safe. Maybe I did not treat your mother right, Jack. Never mind that now. I can help you and I will. Come, there is no time like the present."

The two stepped to the door when one of the rough fellows said, putting himself in the way:

"Here, Mister, you can go if you like but not the boy. We've got orders to keep him here."

"And I have a notion to take him away with me and if you oppose me it will be the worst for you."

The man attempted to argue the point and was promptly knocked down.

CHAPTER XXIII

ON THE WAY HOME

Jack and the stranger flew out of the house, the latter saying in a low tone:

"Follow me! I know the way out of this tangle better than you do."

There was a rough road in front of the shack but lost itself in the woods in one direction and wandered off among the mountains in another so that it was necessary for one to know all its changes and branches to keep from getting lost.

The man who had been knocked down raised a shout and he and his companion set off in pursuit of Jack.

His guide ran swiftly but Jack was a good runner and kept up with him, the two pursuers being speedily left behind.

They at length came out into a more open part of the road and here the moon shone bright and gave them all the light they needed.

"Keep on this way for a time," said Jack's guide, "and we will be far enough away to elude those scamps. I don't think they care to keep up the race long in any event."

They hurried on although at a less swift pace for ten minutes and then, neither seeing nor hearing any sign of pursuit, went less rapidly.

"We can slow up a bit again in a few minutes," said the stranger. "It is a good distance from your place, I take it and you will need some time to reach it. Perhaps you can get a conveyance but the country is not very thickly settled about here."

At last, after going at a fast walk for some little time they came out into an open s.p.a.ce where the moon shone brightly and there was an extensive view of the country.

In the distance Jack could see the river flowing on majestically in the moonlight between the towering hills which here and there cast deep shadows, here the channel being quite narrow and again widening into broad lakes where all was bright.

They were at a considerable height and, pausing for some moments and looking down upon the river he at length began to recognize certain points and said to his guide:

"I think I know where I am but it is some distance still to go where I wish to go. I can take a road through the mountain pa.s.ses and reach home by daylight."

"Home?" questioned the other.

"Well, I mean the Academy. I call it home while I am there."

"It is cold and it will be colder when you get into the pa.s.ses where it is dark."

"Yes, but I can walk fast. I know many of these pa.s.ses and I can take short cuts. You will not wish to return to the river?"

"No, but come on, I am in haste."

They hurried on, descending a little and pa.s.sed through some woods where they could not see the river.

When they came in sight of it again the man said:

"Go on and rejoin your comrades. I will go another way. You can get back from here?"

"Yes, without much trouble. Where are you going?"

"Away, where you will never see me again!" and the man suddenly darted down a forest path.

"I hope he will do better," said Jack to himself, "but I don't know. He says he has tried to do so before but he never succeeded. I hope he will do so this time but I do not want to see him again. I cannot get over my past recollections."

He took another path and at length came to a pa.s.s through the hills which would cut off a considerable distance provided he did not lose his way by taking a wrong turn and he decided to hazard it.

Overhead there were great round peaks about which the clouds always seemed to hover, about him were giant trees which seemed to be hundreds of years old and as he walked on the shadows stretched deep and mysterious before him so that he might well pause for fear of going astray or of meeting unwelcome companions.

In a short time he came out upon a level stretch of ground whence he could easily see how the land lay and pick out a path back to the river and the nearest town to Hilltop.

He set out at a good walk and reached a village below the station at the foot of the hill whence he could make his way across at about eight o'clock in the morning.

"I can get to the Academy in time for school," he said to himself, "and give somebody a surprise. I'd like to know what they are thinking of now but I know what they will think when they see me walk in to take my examinations."

He had calculated the time correctly for as he reached the top of the hill in front of the Academy and saw the well-known buildings stretching out before him he heard the warning bell which told him he must hasten.