The boy succeeded in creeping a dozen feet, perhaps, without drawing
attention to himself, when he was brought to a standstill by coming
squarely against a fence, whose rails were too close together to allow his
body to pass through.
Jim was in an agony of fear, for the two were steadily drawing near him.
When he was in despair there came the flutter of a bird in precisely the
opposite direction, and the suspicion of the sailors immediately turned
thitherward.
This was Jim's golden opportunity, and he was over the obstruction in a
twinkling. But the fates seemed against him. Just as he left the top rail,
it broke with a loud crash; and, feeling that everything now depended on
his fleetness, he made his legs do their duty. Once over the fence, the
fugitive found he was in the broad, open highway, along which he darted
like a lad whose life was at stake.
As there was a light gleaming only a short way ahead, his enemies must
have seen that it was hardly a safe thing to pursue their evil intent any
farther.
Dreading they would not stop, Jim kept up his headlong flight, dashing
through the open gate, without a pause for dogs, and giving so resounding
a knock on the door that the old farmer instantly appeared, wondering what
in the name of the seven wonders could be the matter.
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