kind of You and I don't s'pose I ought to be wanting anything else;
but if You can, oh, I wish I could know before this ends, if `twas

me mother"--Freckles could not even whisper the words, for he
hesitated a second and ended--"IF `TWAS ME MOTHER DID IT!"

"Freckles! Freckles! Oh, Freckles!" the voice of the Angel
came calling. Freckles swayed forward and wrenched at the rope

until it cut deeply into his body.
"Hell!" cried Black Jack. "Who is that? Do you know?"

Freckles nodded.
Jack whipped out a revolver and snatched the gag from Freckles' mouth.

"Say quick, or it's up with you right now, and whoever that is with you!"
"It's the girl the Bird Woman takes with her," whispered Freckles

through dry, swollen lips.
"They ain't due here for five days yet," said Wessner. "We got on

to that last week."
"Yes," said Freckles, "but I found a tree covered with butterflies

and things along the east line yesterday that I thought the Bird
Woman would want extra, and I went to town to tell her last night.

She said she'd come soon, but she didn't say when. They must be
here. I take care of the girl while the Bird Woman works. Untie me

quick until she is gone. I'll try to send her back, and then you
can go on with your dirty work."

"He ain't lying," volunteered Wessner. "I saw that tree covered
with butterflies and him watching around it when we were spying on

him yesterday."
"No, he leaves lying to your sort," snapped Black Jack, as he undid

the rope and pitched it across the room. "Remember that you're
covered every move you make, my buck," he cautioned.

"Freckles! Freckles!" came the Angel's impatient voice, closer and closer.
"I must be answering," said Freckles, and Jack nodded. "Right here!"

he called, and to the men: "You go on with your work, and
remember one thing yourselves. The work of the Bird Woman is known

all over the world. This girl's father is a rich man, and she is
all he has. If you offer hurt of any kind to either of them, this

world has no place far enough away or dark enough for you to be
hiding in. Hell will be easy to what any man will get if he touches

either of them!"
"Freckles, where are you?" demanded the Angel.

Soulsick with fear for her, Freckles went toward her and parted the
bushes that she might enter. She came through without apparently

giving him a glance, and the first words she said were: "Why have
the gang come so soon? I didn't know you expected them for three

weeks yet. Or is this some especial tree that Mr. McLean needs to
fill an order right now?"

Freckles hesitated. Would a man dare lie to save himself? No.
But to save the Angel--surely that was different. He opened his lips,

but the Angel was capable of saving herself. She walked among them,
exactly as if she had been reared in a lumber camp, and never

waited for an answer.
"Why, your specimen case!" she cried. "Look! Haven't you noticed

that it's tipped over? Set it straight, quickly!"
A couple of the men stepped out and carefully righted the case.

"There! That's better," she said. "Freckles, I'm surprised at your
being so careless. It would be a shame to break those lovely

butterflies for one old tree! Is that a valuable tree? Why didn't
you tell us last night you were going to take out a tree this morning?

Oh, say, did you put your case there to protect that tree from
that stealing old Black Jack and his gang? I bet you did!

Well, if that wasn't bright! What kind of a tree is it?"
"It's a white oak," said Freckles.

"Like those they make dining-tables and sideboards from?"
"Yes."

"My! How interesting!" she cried. "I don't know a thing about
timber, but my father wants me to learn just everything I can. I am

going to ask him to let me come here and watch you until I know
enough to boss a gang myself. Do you like to cut trees, gentlemen?"

she asked with angelicsweetness of the men.
Some of them appeared foolish and some grim, but one managed to say

they did.
Then the Angel's eyes turned full on Black Jack, and she gave the

most natural little start of astonishment.
"Oh! I almost thought that you were a ghost!" she cried. "But I see

now that you are really and truly. Were you ever in Colorado?"
"No," said Jack.

"I see you aren't the same man," said the Angel. "You know, we
were in Colorado last year, and there was a cowboy who was the

handsomest man anywhere around. He'd come riding into town every
night, and all we girls just adored him! Oh, but he was a beauty!

I thought at first glance you were really he, but I see now he
wasn't nearly so tall nor so broad as you, and only half as handsome."

The men began to laugh while Jack flushed crimson. The Angel joined
in the laugh.

"Well, I'll leave it to you! Isn't he handsome?" she challenged.
"As for that cowboy's face, it couldn't be compared with yours.

The only trouble with you is that your clothes are spoiling you.
It's the dress those cowboys wear that makes half their attraction.

If you were properly clothed, you could break the heart of the
prettiest girl in the country."

With one accord the other men looked at Black Jack, and for the
first time realized that he was a superbspecimen of manhood, for

he stood six feet tall, was broad, well-rounded, and had dark, even
skin, big black eyes, and full red lips.

"I'll tell you what!" exclaimed the Angel. "I'd just love to see
you on horseback. Nothing sets a handsome man off so splendidly.

Do you ride?"
"Yes," said Jack, and his eyes were burning on the Angel as if he

would fathom the depths of her soul.
"Well," said the Angel winsomely, "I know what I just wish you'd do.

I wish you would let your hair grow a little longer. Then wear
a blue flannel shirt a little open at the throat, a red tie, and a

broad-brimmed felt hat, and ride past my house of evenings.
I'm always at home then, and almost always on the veranda, and, oh!

but I would like to see you! Will you do that for me?" It is impossible
to describe the art with which the Angel asked the question. She was

looking straight into Jack's face, coarse and hardened with sin and
careless living, which was now taking on a wholly different expression.

The evil lines of it were softening and fading under her clear gaze.
A dull red flamed into his bronze cheeks, while his eyes were

growing brightly tender.
"Yes," he said, and the glance he gave the men was of such a nature

that no one saw fit even to change countenance.
"Oh, goody!" she cried, tilting on her toes. "I'll ask all the

girls to come see, but they needn't stick in! We can get along
without them, can't we?"

Jack leaned toward her. He was the charmed fluttering bird, while
the Angel was the snake.

"Well, I rather guess!" he cried.
The Angel drew a deep breath and surveyed him rapturously.

"My, but you're tall!" she commented. "Do you suppose I ever will
grow to reach your shoulders?"

She stood on tiptoe and measured the distance with her eyes. Then she
developed timid confusion, while her glance sought the ground.

"I wish I could do something," she half whispered.
Jack seemed to increase an inch in height.

"What?" he asked hoarsely.
"Lariat Bill used always to have a bunch of red flowers in his

shirt pocket. The red lit up his dark eyes and olive cheeks and
made him splendid. May I put some red flowers on you?"

Freckles stared as he wheezed for breath. He wished the earth would
open and swallow him. Was he dead or alive? Since his Angel had

seen Black Jack she never had glanced his way. Was she completely
bewitched? Would she throw herself at the man's feet before them all?

Couldn't she give him even one thought? Hadn't she seen that
he was gagged and bound? Did she truly think that these were

McLean's men? Why, she could not! It was only a few days ago that
she had been close enough to this man and angry enough with him to

peel the hat from his head with a shot! Suddenly a thing she had
said jestingly to him one day came back with startling force:

"You must take Angels on trust." Of course you must! She was
his Angel. She must have seen! His life, and what was far more,

her own, was in her hands. There was nothing he could do but
trust her. Surely she was working out some plan.

The Angel knelt beside his flower bed and recklessly tore up by the
roots a big bunch of foxfire.

"These stems are so tough and sticky," she said. "I can't
break them. Loan me your knife," she ordered Freckles.

As she reached for the knife, her back was for one second toward
the men. She looked into his eyes and deliberately winked.

She severed the stems, tossed the knife to Freckles, and walking to
Jack, laid the flowers over his heart.

Freckles broke into a sweat of agony. He had said she would be safe
in a herd of howling savages. Would she? If Black Jack even made a

motion toward touching her, Freckles knew that from somewhere he
would muster the strength to kill him. He mentally measured the

distance to where his club lay and set his muscles for a spring.
But no--by the splendor of God! The big fellow was baring his head

with a hand that was unsteady. The Angel pulled one of the long
silver pins from her hat and fastened her flowers securely.

Freckles was quaking. What was to come next? What was she planning,
and oh! did she understand the danger of her presence among those

men; the real necessity for action?
As the Angel stepped from Jack, she turned her head to one side and

peered at him, quite as Freckles had seen the little yellow fellow
do on the line a hundred times, and said: "Well, that does the trick!

Isn't that fine? See how it sets him off, boys? Don't you forget
the tie is to be red, and the first ride soon. I can't wait

very long. Now I must go. The Bird Woman will be ready to start,
and she will come here hunting me next, for she is busy today.

What did I come here for anyway?"
She glanced inquiringly around, and several of the men laughed.

Oh, the delight of it! She had forgotten her errand for him!
Jack had a second increase in height. The Angel glanced helplessly

as if seeking a clue. Then her eyes fell, as if by accident, on
Freckles, and she cried, "Oh, I know now! It was those magazines

the Bird Woman promised you. I came to tell you that we put them
under the box where we hide things, at the entrance to the swamp

as we came in. I knew I would need my hands crossing the swamp,
so I hid them there. You'll find them at the same old place."

Then Freckles spoke.
"It's mighty risky for you to be crossing the swamp alone," he said.

"I'm surprised that the Bird Woman would be letting you try it.
I know it's a little farther, but it's begging you I am to be

going back by the trail. That's bad enough, but it's far safer than
the swamp."

The Angel laughed merrily.
"Oh stop your nonsense!" she cried. "I'm not afraid! Not in

the least! The Bird Woman didn't want me to try following a path
that I'd been over only once, but I was sure I could do it, and I'm

rather proud of the performance. Now, don't go babying! You know
I'm not afraid!"

"No," said Freckles gently, "I know you're not; but that has
nothing to do with the fact that your friends are afraid for you.

On the trail you can see your way a bit ahead, and you've all the
world a better chance if you meet a snake."

Then Freckles had an inspiration. He turned to Jack imploringly.
"You tell her!" he pleaded. "Tell her to go by the trail. She will

for you."
The implication of this statement was so gratifying to Black Jack

that he seemed again to expand and take on increase before their
very eyes.

"You bet!" exclaimed Jack. And to the Angel: "You better take

• whisper [´wispə] v.耳语 n.低语；沙沙声 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• capable [´keipəbəl] a.有能力；能干的 (初中英语单词)
• lumber [´lʌmbə] v.伐木 n.木材 (初中英语单词)
• careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)
• valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
• anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
• properly [´prɔpəli] ad.适当地；严格地 (初中英语单词)
• accord [ə´kɔ:d] n.&vi.符合 vt.给与 (初中英语单词)
• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
• coarse [kɔ:s] a.粗(糙)的；粗鲁的 (初中英语单词)
• wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)
• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)
• confusion [kən´fju:ʒən] n.混乱(状态)；骚乱 (初中英语单词)
• swallow [swɔləu] n.燕子 v.吞，咽；淹没 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• splendor [´splendə] n.壮丽 =splendour (初中英语单词)
• errand [´erənd] n.差使，使命 (初中英语单词)
• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)
• gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)
• whoever [hu:´evə] pron.任何人，无论谁 (高中英语单词)
• impatient [im´peiʃənt] a.不耐烦的，急躁的 (高中英语单词)
• specimen [´spesimən] n.标本，样品；抽样 (高中英语单词)
• sweetness [´swi:tnis] n.甜蜜；芳香；亲切 (高中英语单词)
• colorado [,kɔlə´rɑ:dəu] n.科罗拉多(州) (高中英语单词)
• crimson [´krimzən] a.&n.深(紫)红(的) (高中英语单词)
• manhood [´mænhud] n.人格；男子气概 (高中英语单词)
• horseback [´hɔ:sbæk] n.马背 (高中英语单词)
• bronze [brɔnz] n.青铜(器) (高中英语单词)
• brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)
• startling [´stɑ:tliŋ] a.惊人的 (高中英语单词)
• deliberately [di´libərətli] ad.故意地；慎重地 (高中英语单词)
• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
• inspiration [,inspi´reiʃən] n.鼓舞；灵感；启发 (高中英语单词)
• expand [ik´spænd] vt.张开；膨胀；扩大 (高中英语单词)
• revolver [ri´vɔlvə] n.左轮手枪；旋转者 (英语四级单词)
• swollen [´swəulən] swell的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• superb [su:´pə:b, sju:-] a.宏伟的；极好的 (英语四级单词)
• fathom [´fæðəm] n.英寻 vt.推测，揣摩 (英语四级单词)
• flannel [´flænl] n.法兰绒 (英语四级单词)
• veranda [və´rændə] n.游廊；阳台 (英语四级单词)
• tiptoe [´tiptəu] n.脚尖 vi.踮着脚走 (英语四级单词)
• touching [´tʌtʃiŋ] a.动人的 prep.提到 (英语四级单词)
• muster [´mʌstə] n.集合 v.集合；征召 (英语四级单词)
• wanting [´wɔntiŋ, wɑ:n-] a.短缺的；不足的 (英语六级单词)
• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)
• especial [i´speʃəl] a.特别的，特殊的 (英语六级单词)
• angelic [æn´dʒelik] a.天使(般)的 (英语六级单词)
• cowboy [´kaubɔi] n.牧童；牛仔 (英语六级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
• hunting [´hʌntiŋ] n.打猎 (英语六级单词)
• implication [,impli´keiʃən] n.牵过；暗示；含蓄 (英语六级单词)