“Yes?”
“Exactly. I held my watch, which is a new accurate time-piece, and while I did not object to dying when the three-quarters of an hour was up, I did object to such an unpleasant ending to the lives of my esteemed parents. It is possible, of course, that the hands stopped occasionally—barely possible,” he grinned.
“Oh, I was blue when I saw how the time had passed,” Jim said.
“Expect you were. Don’t know that I should have cared to change places with you.”
Then followed explanations from all concerned and unconcerned; Bradshaw learned why he had been urged to nearly tear the wings off his plane, and when the danger was past, the natives awkwardly tried to thank the Buddies by presenting them with gifts, while Mrs. Harding nearly went into hysterics, which the doctor hastened to bring her out of with a good shake.
“Buck up, buck up. Where’s Martin?” he asked Bob.
“Mills met him in the passage and killed him.”
The party looked sober.
“Twice you boys came through the Black Woods, but Martin, who forced himself under the butterflies, met destruction before the change of the moon,” said Donald quietly.
“That’s right,” Jim nodded, “but it looks to me as if the curse of Bloody Dam was made so that fellows who aren’t evil-doers may pass unharmed even through the Black Woods.”