Page:Daskam--The imp and the angel.djvu/167

The Imp Disposes It drew nearer; it turned aside; it was growing fainter

"Oh! come here! come here!" cried the Imp desperately. The footsteps ceased utterly.

"Call again!" shouted a deep voice.

"O-o-o-o-o-h-h-h!" trumpetted the Imp like a frightened foghorn, too excited to stop even when a tall man hurried through the trees and shook him rapidly to stop the amazing noise.

"There, there! It's all right—let up on that yelling! It's really almost unnecessary, I assure you," he begged. "We're saved—land is in sight!" And he hurried the breathless Imp off to the left. The exigencies of the human mechanism forced his captive to fill his lungs, and by the time he had recovered himself they were in sight of another road and another centre of civilization.

It was a solitary house, built like an enormous log cabin of rough timbers. But it was far from rough in other respects. Wide piazzas with polished floors ran all round it; hammocks and bright rugs, tables filled with books and pipes, two beautiful golden setters and an enormous bull-dog, gave it an air of great comfort. The 139