Page:Harvey O'Higgins--Silent Sam and other stories.djvu/215

Rh break out of a cloud—an' I don't know whether I was more feared o' tbe dark that 'indered us or the moon that showed us what we 'ad to 'ide. An' 'Arry said never a word, but worked slow an' careful, with only a glance about 'im—when the moon came out clear—to see that no one watched.

"An' then we 'ad the pile moved. An' then 'e dug in the bog with a spade. An' then 'e told me to go away an' turn my back. An' I fell on my knees an' prayed, miss—prayed for 'Arry to get away safe—till I thought it was not my prayers but my 'ands that 'd aid 'im, an' came back to 'elp 'im put back the peats—prayin' to myself but workin' too—till it was all as we 'd found it, an' no sign of anything 'id. An' then 'Arry went to put back the ladder in the barnyard, an' I fainted, miss."

"Horrible!" the girl said.

The old woman wagged her head. "It was the only way, miss. We went over it an' over it 'undreds o' times after. An' it was the only way that 'd saved us. 'They 'll think 'e 's run off with you,' 'Arry said. That 's why 'e wanted the clothes from 'is room, miss. 'An' when I go,' 'e said, 'they 'll think I 've followed to try an' find you. We 'll get to Liverpool,' 'e said. 'An' long before they know where 'e is, we 'll be 'idden away in America.'

"An' it all turned out so. 'E 'id me in 'is father's barn—in a 'idin' place 'e 'd used as a boy—between the joists of the 'ay loft an' the roof, where there was old 'arness an' broken tools. An' 'e brought me food in