Chapter 17
THE AXE IS GONEMy first thought was of the after house. Jones, who had been
fond of Burns, was working over him, muttering to himself. I felt
his heart, which was beating slowly but regularly, and, convinced
that he was not dying, ran down into the after house. The cabin was
empty: evidently the guard around the pearl handled revolver had
been given up on the false promise of peace. All the lights were
going, however, and the heat was suffocating.
I ran to Miss Lee's door, and tried it. It was locked, but
almost instantly she spoke from inside:
"What is it?"
"Nothing much. Can you come out?"
She came a moment later, and I asked her to call into each cabin
to see if every one was safe. The result was reassuring—no one had
been disturbed; and I was put to it to accou
