in two very soon if something was not done for
him, and Tommy was in despair, when they
thought they heard a far-off shout, and both
answered it till their throats were nearly split
witli screaming.
" I seem to see a light moving round down
that way," cried Billy from his hook, pointing
toward the valley.
" They are looking for us, but they won't hear
us. I '11 run and holler louder, and bring 'em
up here," answered Tommy, glad to do any-
HOW THEY RAN AWAY 45
thing that would put an end to this dreadful
state of things.
" Don't leave me ! I may fall and be killed !
The bear might come ! Don't go ! don't go ! '
wailed Billy, longing to drop, but afraid.
" I won't go far, and I '11 come back as quick
as I can. You are safe up there. Hold on, and
we '11 soon get you down." answered Tommy,
rushing away helter-skelter, never minding where
he went, and too much excited to care for any
damage.
The moon was bright on the blasted trees;
but when he came down among the green pines,
it grew dark, and he often stumbled and fell.
Never minding bumps and bruises, he scrambled
over rocks, leaped fallen trunks, floundered
through brooks, and climbed down steep places,
till, with a reckless jump, he went heels over
head into a deep hole, and lay there for a mo-
ment stunned by the fall. It was an old bear-
trap, long unused, and fortunately well carpeted
with dead leaves, or poor Tommy would have
broken his bones.
When he came to himself he was so used up
that he lay still for some time in a sort of daze,
too tired to know or care about anything, only
dimly conscious that somebody was lost in a
46 HOW THEY RAN AWAY
tree or a well, and that, on the whole, running
away was not all fun.
By and by the sound of a gun roused him ;
and remembering poor Billy, he tried to get out
of the pit, for the moon showed him where
he was. But it was too deep, and he was too
stiff with weariness and the fall to be very
nimble. So he shouted, and whistled, and
raged about very like a little bear caught in
the pit.
It is very difficult to find a lost person on these
great mountains, and many wander for hours not
far from help, bewildered by the thick woods,
the deep ravines, and precipices which shut them
in. Some have lost their lives ; and as Tommy
lay on the leaves used up by his various struggles,
he thought of all the stories he had lately heard
at the farm, and began to wonder how it would
feel to starve to death down there, and to wish
poor Billy could come to share his prison, that
they might die together, like the Babes in the
Wood, or better still the Boy Scouts lost on the
prairies in that thrilling story," Bill Boomerang,
the Wild Hunter of the West."
" I guess mother is worried this time, because
I never stayed out all night before, and I never
will again without leave. It 's rather good fun t
HOW THEY RAN AWAY 47
though, if they only find me. I ain't afraid, and
it is n't very cold. I always wanted to sleep out,
and now I'm doing it. Wish poor Billy was
safely down and in this good bed with me.
Won't he be scared all alone there ? Maybe the
belt will break and he get hurt bumping down.
Sorry now I left him, he 's such a 'fraid-cat.
There 's the gun again ! Guess it 's that man
after us. Hi! hollo! Here I am! Whoop!
Hurrah ! Hi ! hi ! hi ! "
Tommy's meditations ended in a series of
yells as loud as his shrill little voice could make
them, and he thought some one answered. But
it must have been an echo, for no one came ; and
after another rampage round his prison, the poor
boy nestled down among the leaves, and went
fast asleep because there was nothing else to do.
So there they were, the two young hunters,
lost at midnight on the mountain, one hanging
like an apple on the old tree, and the other sound
asleep in a bear-pit. Their distracted mothers
meantime were weeping and wringing their hands
at the farm, while all the men in the neighbor-
hood were out looking for the lost boys. The
hunter on his return to the hotel had reported
meeting the runaways and his effort to send
them home in good season ; so people knew
48 HOW THEY RAN AWAY
where to look, and, led by the man and dog, up
the mountain went Mr. Mullin with his troop.
It was a mild night, and the moon shone high and
clear; so the hunt was, on the whole, rather easy
and pleasant at first, and lanterns flashed through
the dark forest like fireflies, the lonely cliffs
seemed alive with men, and voices echoed in
places where usually only the brooks babbled and
the hawks screamed. But as time went on, and
no sign of the boys appeared, the men grew
anxious, and began to fear some serious harm
had come to the runaways.
" I can't go home without them little shavers
no way, 'specially Tommy," said Mr. Mullin, as
they stopped to rest after a hard climb through
the blasted grove. " He 's a boy after my own
heart, spry as a chipmunk, smart as a young
cockerel, and as full of mischief as a monkey.
He ain't afraid of anything, and I should n't be
a mite surprised to find him enjoyin' himself
first-rate, and as cool as a coocumber."
" The fat boy won't take it so easily, I fancy.
If it hadn't been for him I'd have kept the
lively fellow with me, and shown him how to
hunt. Sorry now I didn't take them both
home," said the man with the gun, seeing his
mistake too late, as people often do.
HOW THEY RAN AWAY 49
i i i 'i '
" Maybe they Ve fell down a precipice and
got killed, like Moses Warner, when he was
lost," suggested a tall fellow, who had shouted
himself hoarse.
" Hush up, and come on ! The dog is barkin'
yonder, and he may have found 'em," said the
farmer, hurrying toward the place where the
hound was baying at something in a tree.
It was poor Billy, hanging there still, half
unconscious with weariness and fear. The belt
had slipped up under his arms, so he could
breathe easily ; and there he was, looking 'ike
a queer sort of cone on the blasted pine.
" Wai, I never ! ' : exclaimed the farmer, as
the tall lad climbed up, and, unhooking Billy,
handed him down like a young bird, into the
arms held up to catch him.
" He 's all right, only scared out of his wits.
Come along and look for the other one. I '11
warrant he went for help, and may be half-way
home by this time," said the hunter, who did n't
take much interest in the fat boy.
Tommy's hat lay on the ground ; and showing
it to the dog, his master told him to find the
boy. The good hound sniffed about, and then
set off with his nose to the ground, following
the zigzag track Tommy had taken in his hurry.
50 HOW THE? RAN AWAY
The hunter and several of the men went after
him, leaving the farmer with the others to take
care of Billy.
Presently the dog came to the bear-pit, and
began to bark again.
" He 's got him ! ' cried the men, much re-
lieved ; and rushing on soon saw the good beast
looking down at a little white object in one
corner of the dark hole.
It was Tommy's face in the moonlight, for the
rest of him was covered up with leaves. The
little round face seemed very quiet ; and for a
moment the men stood quite still, fearing that
the fall might have done the boy some harm.
Then the hunter leaped down, and gently
touched the brown cheek. It was warm, and
a soft snore from the pug nose made the man
call out, much relieved, -
" He 's all right. Wake up here, little chap ;
you are wanted at home. Had hunting enough
for this time ? '
As he spoke, Tommy opened his eyes, gave
a stretch, and said, " Hollo, Billy," as calmly as
if in his own bed at home. Then the rustle of
the leaves, the moonlight in his face, and the
sight of several men staring down at him startled
him wide awake.
HOW THEY RAN AWAY 51
" Did you shoot the big bear ? ' : he asked,
looking up at the hunter with a grin.
" No ; but I caught a little one, and here he
is," answered the man, giving Tommy a roll in
the leaves, much pleased because he did not
whine or make a fuss.
" Got lost, did n't we ? Oh, I say, where 's
Billy ? I left him up a tree like a coon, and he
would n't come down," laughed Tommy, kicking
off his brown bed-clothes, and quite ready to
get up now.
They all laughed with him ; and presently,
when the story was told, they pulled the boy
out of the pit, and went back to join the other
wanderer, who was now sitting up eating the
bread and butter Mrs. Mullin sent for their very
late supper.
The men roared again, as the two boys told
their various tribulations ; and when they had
been refreshed, the party started for home,
blowing the tin horns, and firing shot after shot
to let the scattered searchers know that the lost
children were found. Billy was very quiet, and
gladly rode on the various broad backs offered
for his use ; but Tommy stoutly refused to be
carried, and with an occasional " boost " over a
very rough place, walked all the way down on
52 HOW THEY RAN AWAY
his own sturdy legs. He was the hero of the
adventure, and was never tired of relating how
he caught the woodchuck, cooked the fish, slid
down the big rock, and went to bed in the old
bear-pit. But in his own little inind he resolved
to wait till he was older before he tried to be a
hunter ; and though he caught several wood-
chucks that summer, he never shot another
harmless little bird.
The Children's Friend Series
HANDY Illustrated Volumes by popular authors, including Louisa
M. Alcott, Susan Coolidge, Nora Perry, Helen Hunt Jackson,
Louise Chandler Moulton, Juliana H. Ewing, Laura E. Rich-
ards, A. G. Plympton, Edward Everett Hale, etc. Choicely printed
and attractively bound in cloth, with gold and ink stamp on side.
Issued at the popular price of 50 cents per volume.
By LOUISA M. ALCOTT
A HOLE IN THE WALL
MARJORIE'S THREE GIFTS
MAY FLOWERS
POPPIES AND WHEAT
CANDY COUNTRY
A CHRISTMAS DREAM
LITTLE BUTTON ROSE
PANSIES AND WATER-LILIES
THE DOLL'S JOURNEY
MOUNTAIN-LAUREL & MAID-
ENHAIR
MORNING GLORIES
THE LITTLE WOMEN PLAY
THE LITTLE MEN PLAY
By SUSAN COOLIDGE
A LITTLE KNIGHT OF LABOR
CURLY LOCKS
TWO GIRLS
LITTLE TOMMY TUCKER
LITTLE BO-PEEP AND QUEEN
BLOSSOM
UNCLE AND AUNT
By BYRD SPILMAN DEWEY
BRUNO. THE STORY OF A DOG
By EDWARD EVERETT HALE
THE MAN WITHOUT A COUN-
TRY
By ADELAIDE F. SAMUELS
FATHER GANDER'S MELODIES
By JULIANA H. EWING
DADDY DARWIN'S DOVECOT
JACKANAPES
STORY OF A SHORT LIFE
MARY'S MEADOW
LAND OF LOST TOYS
GREAT EMERGENCY
BENJY IN BEASTLAND
A VERY ILL-TEMPERED
FAMILY
SNAP-DRAGON
By BRADLEY OILMAN
THE KINGDOM OF COINS
THE CHILDREN'S FRIEND SERIES Continued
By EVELYN WHITAKER
MISS TOOSBY'S MISSION,
LADDIE
BY MARY CAROLINE HYDE
GOOSTIE
UNDER THE STABLE FLOOR
CHRISTMAS AT TAPPAN SEA
HOLLY-BERRY AND MISTLE-
TOE
By JEAN INGELOW
THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
By HELEN HUNT JACKSON
HUNTER CATS OF CONNORLOA
By EDWARD LEAR
NONSENSE SONGS
ByLOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON
AGAINST WIND AND TIDE
FOUR OP THEM
JESSIE'S NEIGHBORS
HER BABY BROTHER
By NORA PERRY
COTTAGE NEIGHBORS
THAT LITTLE SMITH GIRL
MAY BART LETT'S STEP-
MOTHER
JU-JU'S CHRISTMAS PARTY
A NEW YEAR'S CALL
By ELIZABETH S. PHELPS and
HERBERT D. WARD
A LOST HERO
By A. G. PLYMPTON
LITTLE OLIVE THE HEIRESS
RAGS AND VELVET GOWNS
TWO DOGS AND A DONKEY
A BRAVE COWARD
By PERRAULT and D'AULNOY
FAIRY FAVORITES
ONCE UPON A TIME
By LAURA E. RICHARDS
CHOP-CHIN AND THE GOLDEN
DRAGON
GOLDEN-BREASTED KOOTOO
SUNDOWN SOJNGS
By MARY Wo TILESTON
CHILDREN'S HOUR
BOOK OF HEROIC BALLADS
By SIR WALTER SCOTT
IVANHOE AND ROB ROY RE-
TOLD FOR CHILDREN
IN BOXED SETS BY AUTHORS
THE LOUISA M. ALCOTT LI-
BRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
11 vols. $5.50
THE SUSAN COOLIDGE LI-
BRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
6 vols. $3.00
THE JULIANA H. EWING LI-
BRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
9 vcls. $4.50
THE LOUISE CHANDLER MOUL-
TON LIBRARY FOR LITTLE
PEOPLE. 4 vols. $2.00
THE NORA PERRY LIBRARY
FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. 5 vols.
$2.50
THE LAURA E. RICHARDS LI-
BRARY FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
3 vols. $1.50
THE A. G. PLYMPTON LIBRARY
FOR LITTLE PEOPLE. 4 vols.
$2.00
MARY CAROLINE HYDE'S
CHRISTMAS LIBRARY. 4 vols.
$2.00
LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON
li III!
i|i|i
i Mi
Ifl i
1 !
Hi U
ll
i i Jli il III li
I'SF