The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1852-12-25
CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER II.
Months had passed since the stranger made
his first appearance at The fort. Spring and
summer had come and gone, and autumn had
thrown his rich mantle of bright and mellow
hueS over the landscape, when one eveninr
few hours ere set of sun, the hunter and his
Young comnanion might have been seen as
crndlng and descending the Ionn Green hills
which skirt the shores of the Ohio, on their
return from one of their long and lonely wan
nernTs among the rcccSSeS of the mOuntain.
Descendin. the slope of a thick lv-woodcd hill
they came to the bank of the river. where 4
sudden bend in the stream formed a littI,
cove, known as the Horseshoe. As they were
about to cross the little pebhlv beach in order
to reach the hill which rose in front of them
the hunters attention was attracted by the
'inu>ual and uneasy motionS of the dog, run
nlng hiihrr and thther. snuifnc the air. and
pushing through the bushes which skirted the
bank, with a sharp, quick bark.
ala old Snarl has snufed sometime in
the wind. That dogs never wronc. Here
Snarl. down. down, old fellow. before the red
skins hear Won !"
The dog came back and cronched at his
masters feet, while he stepped cautiously for
ward. looking carefully about for tracks. and
peer'ng anxouslv into every thicket
There 1t is, at last said he suddenly.
pointing to the ground and turning sirnifi-
cant look toward his companion Sure enough
there are two footprints in the sand. They
were half effaced. but the keen eve Of ,h.
hunter could detect at once that they were
quite recent. and had been made bv a mecca
SIN. Aftera few moments search they found.
Snugly hidden beneath the thick undcrurowtb
that sklrted the immediate bank of the river
an Indian canoe. containing bag of marched
corn. little venison and some pow,ier
"Nell said the old hunter after a few
moments reflection, "Ill trap the red scoun-
drel this time"
"llow is that ?" asked his young friend
"Nh by YOU see the canoe is so small that
not more than two or three can he in RI,
party. They must intend to return soon. or
they would have brought more provisions and
hidden them in better place. So l Judge
they intend to commit their deviltry Tonight
and be off before day. Therefore. I'll inst
come down as soon as the moon rises Law :,
wait until they get here, and then think that
black BesS and myself will answer for two or
three scalpS to hang up in the cabin. In the
mean time, want YOU to 90 to the fort and
put the boys on their guard ar some NAV BE-
picked off before they know what hurts .em :"
"Well," said the youth, I'm willing to 90 to
the fort and warn them, but YOU must let me
return and stand guard with YOU here. There
may be more Indians than YOU expect and
two rifles are better than one, anyhow"
NO, no, boy; do just as ! tell you. There's
no chance whatever of there being any more
OF EN-; and If there was, why. my old scaln
is worth nothing at any rate; but it won't do
fer you to get hurt just about this time
The old man chuckled, and the young one
blushcd in spite of his sunburnt check. He
was to be married in a few days to Young
girl at the station
lis trend, however, paid no attention to
his bushes, but carefully replacing the canoe
and erasing their own toot-p prints, he led the
way Up rugged path which lav before them
This path wound along the side of narrow
gorge shut out from the river by cliffs, and
rendered gloomy by their eternal shadows
After tedious walk of half an hour. ,ha
rocky path brought them to the summit q,
the hill on which the hunters hut was built
CHAPTER III.
Inc nut was Of the rudest and simplest
construction, and almost hidden by the thick
growth of young trees, wild vines and bushes
which the hunter had left undisturbed In
front OF 1t stretched the green sward for few
Yards and then the hill went abruptly down
forming an almost perpendicular precipice ,at
the iQ4t Of which it sloped off again to the
rivers bank, Ehich was considerable dis
tance from the hut.
As the two hunters gazed around from this
'o''y e'n'nence' the scene spread out below