"'Twill be easier gettin' on with un free, and I'll travel a rare lot faster with my arms loose." Burning the strings from his wrists, however, proved a much more difficult problem than burning them from his ankles.

He sat down with his back to the hot end of the stick, but discovered that it was no easy matter to find just the right position between the wrists.
Several efforts resulted only in painful burns on his hands, but he was not discouraged, and finally was rewarded.

The string where it crossed between his wrists was brought into contact with the sharp point of the glowing hot stick, and though the reflected heat burned him cruelly he held the string pressed against the fire until at last it crumbled away and his hands flew apart.
"She took grit," said he, "but I made out to do un." With the joy of freedom and the anxiety to escape his tormentors, Jamie was oblivious to the pain of his burned and blistered wrists.

He could use both hands and feet, and was confident that he would soon find the camp and his friends.
Jamie ran as fast as his short legs would carry him.

The snow was nearly knee deep, but it was soft and feathery and he scarcely gave it thought at first.