When Thad came upon a broken-down rail fence, he knew they must be close in the neighborhood of the cabin; and at the same time he thought that it was well this was the case, because contact with the fire could not long have been delayed.
A minute later, and he sighted the side of the cabin. As Jim had said, it stood in comparatively open ground; but the brush had grown up again, owing to lack of care when the owner lost interest in the home that no longer knew the presence of Little Lina.
A couple of low sheds could also be seen near by; but even to Thad’s uneducated eye it was plainly apparent that if the fire worked this way, everything was bound to go. Cale Martin may have escaped by reason of his energy before, on other occasions, but this would wind his place up.
There was no sign of any human being around. Jim seemed to look to the right and to the left with more or less eagerness. Plainly he was disappointed because he did not see the giant poacher somewhere. He hurried over to one of the low sheds, and as Thad followed close after him, he saw that there was an enclosure made of chicken wire, in which several red foxes were running furiously back and forth, as though conscious of their peril, and wild to get out and escape.
“He cain’t be here!” Jim called out, for the fire was really so noisy now that it required more or less of an effort to make one’s self heard.
“Why not?” asked Thad.
“’Cause he’d never let them foxes stay in thar. Cale, he’s human, ef he used ter be a hard case; an’ knowin’ ther fire’d like as not git ’em if they stayed cooped up, he’d sure broke the wire fence daown so’s ter let ’em run.”
Saying which Jim deliberately did this himself, tearing up a stake, and in almost the twinkling of an eye making a big hole, through which the four red foxes shot like lightning. The last seen of them, the shrewd little animals were flying away into the woods that as yet had not felt the scorching breath of the fire.
“Will they escape, Jim?” asked Thad, unable to repress his desire for knowledge, even while facing such a scene of havoc as this.
“Sure they will,” grunted the guide, who was already turning hastily in the direction of the cabin.