Part 11 (1/2)

”Whew! So cut me then!” Jack exclaimed ”Must be a knife one of the et at that and on a rope!”

Carefully he felt along on the ground, so as not to cut hi sharp

”A piece of glass--part of a broken bottle,” he ood as a knife, but I'll probably cut ed to work hilass under hiure this out,” he mused

It was obvious that he could not hold the piece of glass in his fingers and saay at the ropes around his wrists He could not bend his fingers back far enough

”If I could only get the glass between h, by lying on my face, so I could saw on the ropes that way,” he reflected He tried, but soon had to give it up He also endeavored to do this by lying on his side, but it was of no use Then, in a flash, it caround, to hold it,” he told hiht to be able to saw through the ropes on lass

I'll do it!”

It was hard work, but by lying on his side Jack ed, after a fashi+on

He had to ithout seeing what he was doing Even daylight would not have helped hilass as a sort of shovel, Jackpiece of glass in this, upright, and packed dirt around it His fingers came in contact with a sravel around the glass knife, to hold itthis, but he kept on

Finally he was ready to an his operations, and he eary, for he had to work in a cramped and uncoan sawing the rope around his wrists up and down on the sharp piece of glass stuck upright in the ground

It had to be done slowly and gently, because too much pressure would have overturned the queer knife Jack knew he ashes were slight, and he thought the bleeding would soon stop

Finally he felt the bonds loosening slightly Soh

”It won't be long now,” Jack thought, gladly

Again and again on the jagged edge of the glass knife did he rub the cords, and finally, with a sudden spreading apart of his hands, he found he could break the re strands

His hands were free!

Jack's heart beat high with hope now He waited a few minutes to let the slackened circulation of blood take up its work Then it was the work of but an instant, with the salass that had served his But when Jack tried to stand up he nearly toppled over, so as he, and so nuone to sleep from the lack of circulation of the blood

But in a little while he was all right, and could walk about

”Now, the question is, what's the best thing to do?” he asked hiive the alarer hasn't already gotten there and given it for me”

Off on the dark and lonely trail he started It was quite different fro over it on the back of his speedy pony But it was so to be free, and free sooner than the robbers had any idea he would be

”I may even be able to catch up to theht

He walked on for nearly an hour, when he heard the trot of a number of Horses some distance ahead of him Jack halted and listened intently

”I wonder if those are the hold-upback, to ht Jack ”I can't afford to take a chance I'll hide in the bushes until I see who they are”