But the rain soon ceased; the wind began to scatter the clouds;
through a rift he saw a great, glittering planet blazing high above
their dark turmoils.

How the drops pattered down as the wind tossed the laurel!--once
they sounded like footfalls close behind him. He turned and looked
back into the obscurities of the forest. Nothing--a frog had begun
to croak far away, and the vibrations of the katydid were strident
on the damp air.

And here was the tanyard, a denser area of gloom marking where the
house and shed stood in the darkness. He did not hesitate. He
stepped over the bars, which lay as usual on the ground, and walked
across the yard to the shed. The eaves were dripping with moisture.
But the coat, still hanging within on the peg, was dry.

He had a thrill of repulsion when he touched it. His hand fell.

"But look how Nate hev treated me," he remonstrated with his
conscience.

The next moment he had drawn the grant half-way out of the pocket,
and as he moved he almost stepped upon something close behind him.
All at once he knew what it was, even before a flash of the distant
lightning revealed a little tow-head down in the darkness, and a
pair of black eyes raised to his in perfect confidence.

It was the little sister who had followed him to-night, as she
always did when she could.