The evening hour drew on. Little Wolf lay upon her bed feverish with pain. Her arm was in bandages, and Dr. Goodrich stood by soothing and encouraging her. Louise Sherman having arrived, kindly relieved Mrs. Hawley, who embraced the opportunity to slip out and regale herself with a cup of tea. As she approached the kitchen, the sound of Daddy's voice reached her ear, and the few words that she caught hastened her footsteps thither. "It was as much as ever I could du fur to hold Fleet Foot," he was saying as she opened the door. "Go on, Daddy," said Mrs. Hawley as he paused at her entrance, "I want to hear all about it." "Wall, as I was a tellin Sorrel Top," he continued, "I was pretty nigh done out a holdin Fleet Foot, when we got tu that are long hill, fur I was a leetle afeared he might git the better on me, but the Honey want, she ain't never afeared of nothin nor never was, but she was oncommon quiet, she hadn't spoke for a long time--when, all at once, jest as we was agoin up the hill, what should we see but Wycoff's big team a tearin down like Jehu. He was a swearin and a cussin and there want no dodging of him. I riz right up and hollered, and the Honey riz up and hollered and shook her handkerchief, but it want no use. Down, down it cum like lightning, sled and all. Fleet Foot got skeered with the hollerin and he jest _went it_. Wall, the Honey ketched up Fanny in a jiff, and tossed her out, and was out herself afore I knowed it, and I was jest a goin fur to git out when the teams cum together kersmash, and I was pitched head fust clean over Wycoff's sled inter the road, and would no doubt hev been killed but my time hadn't come. 'Tween you and me, it is _foreordinated_ that we won't die till our time comes. Fur you may pitch a man about, and break him all tu bits and he lives and gits well. But when his time comes, the prick of a pin will kill him and nothin on airth ken save him. Wall, the fust thing I did when I found myself alive, was to look for the Honey, and afore I hed a chance fur to help her, that are Sherman happened along, and left me in charge of his hoss, while he went fur to fetch her. The fust thing I hearn was a great hollerin fur a bottle of wine that he had in his sleigh. Wall, I took the infarnel stuff and slung it as fur as I could see and told him there want nun there." "Miss DeWolf would give you fits if she knew what you'd done," said Sorrel Top, "the wine want yourn." "Wall, it was the devil's, and I slung it tu him," retorted Daddy triumphantly, "that are Sherman was riled, and I let him sweat, fur I want a goin fur to hev him pour pisen down the Honey. No doubt, if he had gin it tu her, her blood would hev got heated and fever hev sot in. Some folks don't seem to know nothin about them things," said the speaker darting a contemptous glance at Sorrel Top. "Well, Daddy, what happened next?" said Mrs. Hawley, soothingly.