sneer at me, you know."

"What have you done with the sack?"

"I've carried it part of the way."

His concealing the sack in case anyone should come proved he had
forethought, for it was easier to get away scot-free without a burden on
one's back. To stop him from telling me any more lies about his poverty, I
said:

"I expect you've raised plenty of dust in your day? Still do, for that
matter?"

"Well, I do what I can," he replied cheerfully. "I can lift a barrel
easier than most, and nobody was able to dance me off the floor last
Christmas! Hush--is that someone coming?"

We listened. His eyes darted toward the entrance, and in a moment he had
chosen to meet danger halfway. He was taut and splendid; I could see his
jaw working.

"It's nothing," I said.

Resolute and strong as a bull, he crawled out of the hut and was gone for
a few minutes. When he returned, breathing heavily, he said:

"It's nothing."

We lay down for the night.