XXIII. THE ESCAPE

XXIV. JACK'S IDEA

XXV. JACK'S TRICK--CONCLUSION




CHAPTER I


JACK IN THE SADDLE

"Your father is a little late to-night, isn't he Jack?"

"Yes, Mrs. Watson, he should have been here a half-hour ago, and he would,
too, if he had ridden Sunger instead of his own horse."

"You think a lot of that pony of yours, don't you, Jack?" and a
motherly-looking woman came to the doorway of a small cottage and peered
up the mountain trail, which ran in front of the building. Out on the
trail itself stood a tall, bronzed lad, who was, in fact, about seventeen
years of age, but whose robust frame and athletic build made him appear
several years older.

"Yes, Mrs. Watson," the boy answered with a smile, "I do think a lot of
Sunger, and he's worth it, too."

"Yes, I guess he is. And he can travel swiftly, too. My goodness! The way