breath.

"Ez good ez seen him. I seen him slyin' round, an' I HEV FUND THE
PLACE WHAR HE HEV HID IT."

And the woodpecker still was solemnly tapping, high up in the
chestnut-oak tree.



CHAPTER X.

Birt, meanwhile, was trudging along in the woods, hardly seeing
where he went, hardly caring.

He had not had even a vague premonition when the tanner told him
that he might have the rest of the day off. He did not now want the
holiday which would once have so rejoiced him, and he said as much.
And then the tanner, making the disclosure by degrees, being truly
sorry to part with the boy, intimated that he need come back no
more.

Birt unharnessed the mule by the sense of touch and the force of
habit, for blinding tears intervened between his vision and the
rusty old buckles and worn straps of leather. The animal seemed to
understand that something was amiss, and now and then turned his
head interrogatively. Somehow Birt was glad to feel that he left at
least one friend in the tanyard, albeit the humblest, for he had
always treated the beast with kindness, and he was sure the mule
would miss him.