Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-12-21

after some discussion, the proposition was
agreed to by all, and the band started fol
home.
| About an hour after their departure, when
the brands which burnt in the fireplace, emit
ted but faint glow, the broad fagstone, COM
posing the hearth, rose slowly from its bed,
and the wiry-haired dog of the hunter leaped
from beneath it into the room, presently fol-
lowed by the old man himself.
The next morning, at the first streak of
dawn, the Regulators, mounted on feet steeds,
set off TO scour the country, each taking diff
ferent direction, and all eager for their prey.
The day passed and twilight, and with the
darkness, came back, one by one, jaded and
fierce, the baffled marauders. Each drew up
and dismounted at the grocery door; and
there without entering, moodily awaited the
arrival of the rest Five minutes had not
elapsed from the time Of the first arrival, before
Captain Blake and the last of the band, trot-
tern crossed it, showed that he, like the rest,
had failed Without word he entered the
house, closely followed by the others. There,
turning upon them, he said,
well. boys, who's the lucky mani
The old trapper, himself, reckon said
Jack Welch 'for, by the holy poker, 1t seems
he's got off,
tOf! What, all failed! Well, nothing
gained, nothing lost but labor. And now who
was the blunderhead that let drive at me down
there at the forks Look here, and he point
ed to his nose, from the end of which the skin
and bit of flesh had been cut away "A lit
tie windage of the ball, and
BY the mortal gods = exclaimed Welch,
the old feller's pictur up there meant some
thing, after all Look here q
'And here = 'And here !! cried chorus of
excited voices.
And now it was perceived as they all crowd
ed up into circle, that each nose had been
operated upon in precisely the same manner
as the captains. The whole scene, as they
stood there for a instant, silently pointing to
their blood -bedaubed noses, was eminently RI
diculous and something of this seemed to
strike them, for with one accord, they burst
into shout Of laughter genuine at first, but
gradually changing into a savage sort of roar,
broken by oaths and EXPLANATIONS of amaze
ment and admiration
'I'll be blamed,' cried Welch, surveying
his proboscs in three-cornered bit Of look
ing-glass, 'if the old fellow hain't showed US
a kink or two in shooting. The devil must a
been in his old copenhagen for the joke Of
the thing is, that just the mint the shot hit
me, l was thinkin' that Beelzebub himself
would be puzzled to pint me OUT
'I'll tell ye what, Jack Welch,' observed
battered old fellow, solemnly, 'it's my opin-
ion the devil gets loose sometimes, and-that's
him =
Who! What does he say ~ asked Blake
Sammy thinks it's old Scratch, returned
Welch
Fact, cried Jack. There's worse Gus
toners than the devil, Sammy, though he does
look mazin' ugly in picter books
In the afternoon of the following day, boy,
who had been despatched to reconnoitre the
disputed territory, returned with the informa-
tion that he had seen the old hunter at the
cabin thereon. The news few, and ere five
minutes, the Regulators had rallied and were
en- route for the place in question. Posting
themselves at different intervals along the bor-
der Of the clearing so as to surround the cabin
with Gordon of pickets, they contented them
selves for awhile in keeping strict watch
and ward-none of them being inclined after
their recent lesson to venture in broad daylight
within range Of the old mans rifle. Blake
and one or two others took up positions in the
underbrush opposite the front of the cabin,
and covered the entrance with their rifles,
ready to drop their man at an instant's warn
ing. The door was wide open, and they could
see the hunters dog lying across the thresh-
old. In this manner nearly an hour passed,
and Blake's eyes began to grow flmy with
steady watching, when suddenly the hunter
appeared in the doorway. Instantly three
rifles sent him their compliments. Whether
it was the distance, or owing to the eagerness
and sharp watching Of the marksmen, it is
difficult TO determine but certainly the dis
charge appeared to produce as little effect as
if the rifles had been loaded with blank car
tridges. Not splinter or a bit of dust told
where bullet had fallen. AS for the trap
per himself, he seemed totally unconscious of
having officiated as target to three of the best
marksmen in the country. He did not even
lift his eyes at the report, but, STOPPING, pat
ted the dogs head, blew his nose, and then
dog and man disappeared within and the door
was closed.
Blake swore till he was black in the face,
and Sam Bell repeated his former conclusion,
with still more solemnity than before, viz -
that it was the devil and nobody else.
The day now waned apace; and in the twi-
light, taking advantage Of every bush and hill
lock, the assailants slowly lessened the space
between them and the dwelling and at length,
as the darkness closed in, stood around the
door. This, as on the former occasion, was
ascertained to be simply on the latch, and
was Immediately thrown open by the captain.
| Al - -:I-..- ~ J,rlyrass within and the