Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1907-11-01
II. 1906. 5XLO7z1ROP, LEE G jHEPARD co.

renQer, ana returned our SHolS, anu
if l catch sight OF him, l shall shoot
, to cripple anyway"
Old Cy's advice, however, was more
pacific.
MY notion is this feller's a coward
ly cuss," he said, "a sort O. human
hyena. He'll never show himself in
the open, but come prowlin round
nights, stealth anything he can. He
may take a pop at some on us from
atop O the ridge; but l callate he'll
never venture within gunshot day
times. His sort is allus more skeered
o us'n we need be O him."
In spite of Old Cy's conclusions,
however, the camp remained in a state
Of siege that day and many days fol-
lowlng.
Angie and Chip seldom strayed far
from the cabin. Ray assumed the wa
ter-bringing, night and morning. Old
Cy and Levi patroled the premises,
while Martin. Hersey. and his deputy
hunted little for game and a good
deal for moccasined footprints or q
6l1Iil III a SlSal VI tAlAo l4e4A~Dl GGOs
Hersey, more especially, made him
his object of pursuit. He had come
here for that purpose, his pride and
reputation were at stake. and the
thousand dollars Martin had agreed to
pay was a minor factor. He and his
mate passed hours in the mornings
and late in the afternoon watching
from wide apart outlooks on the ridge.
They made long jaunts up the brook
valley where the smoke sign had been
seen, they found where this half-breed
had built fire here, and later another
lair, mile from the cabins and in this
ridge. Long detours they made in
other directions. Old Tomah's trail in
the forest was crossed; but neither in
forest nor ON lake shore were any re-
cent footprints of the balf-breed found.
Old ones were discovered in plenty.
An almost beaten trail led from his
lair in the ridge to a crevasse back of
the cabins, but to one well versed in
wool tracks. ii was easy to tell how
old these tracks were.
a freshly made trail in the forest
bears unMistakable evidence OF it's
date, and no woodwise man ever con
POUNDS a two or three days old one
with it, One footprint may not deter
mine this occult fact; but followed
to where the moss is spongy or the
earth moist matter Of hours, even,
can be decided
A week of this watchfulness, with
no sign of their enemy's return, not
even to within the circuit patroled
time and again, began to relieve sus-
pense and awaken curiosity. They
had been so sure. especially Martin,
that he would come back for revenge,
that now it was hard to account for
his not doing so.
My idee is he got so skeered at
them two Shots" Old Cy asserted, che
hain't stopped runnin' yit." And then
the old man chuckled at the ludicrous
picture of this pernicious "varmint"
scampering through a wilderness from
fright.
But Old Cy was wrong. 1t was not
fear that saved them from a prompt
visitation from this half-breed, but
lack of means of defense. The one
shot remaining in his rifle at the mo-
ment of meeting had been sent on its
vengeful errand, all the rest of his
ammunition was in his canoe, and now
on the bottom of the stream. Being
thus crippled for means to act, the
only course left to him was a return to
his cabin rs miles away, with only a
huntingknife to sustain life with.
Even to a skilled hunter and trauper
like him this was no easy task. 1t
meant at least a weeks journey
through almost impossible swamps
and underground, with frogs, raw fish,
roots and berries for food
How that halfbreed, unconscious
that the mills of God had ground him
the grist he deserved, fought his way
through this painless Wilderness; how
he ate mice and frogs to sustain his
VIC Mess life; how he cursed Mcclure
as ne original cause of his wretched
phi Mt and Martins party as aids; and
how many times he swore he would
kill every one of them, needs no de-
scription.
He lived to reach his hut on the Fox
Hole, and from that moment on, this
wilderness held an implacable enemy
OF McGuire's, sworn to kill him, first
of all.
CHAPTER x.