narrow gorge, with shelving banks rising to the height of some
ninety feet, and overgrown with shrubs and creeping plants. No
doubt in the rainy season 'twas the bed of a torrent; the bottom
was sandy and pebbly, and hard to the feet. We had gone but a
little way along it when Uncle Moses sank down, and, looking at his
livid face, his panting nostrils and starting eyes, I feared that
the hand of death was upon him. 'Twas clear that he was utterly
spent; he could not even stagger to the farther end of the gorge;
and with the bitter pangs of despair I heard the fierce baying of
the hounds, and had almost resigned myself to the inevitable end.

I glanced round to see whether the pursuers were in sight. I saw,
not them, but something which flashed a wild hope through me. Some
little distance back a tree hung over the sandy bottom, its roots
partially laid bare by the washing of the stream which had now
disappeared. The trunk was inclined at a sharp angle; but little
force would be needed, I thought, to topple it over until it lay
athwart the path which the pursuers must follow. Its foliage was
thick, and though I did not flatter myself 'twould put an end to
the pursuit, I thought it might serve as a check, and enable Uncle
Moses to gain strength enough for a last attempt.

Dropping the muskets by the negro's side, I ran down the gorge,
scrambled up the bank to the base of the tree, and swarmed along
the trunk to the farthest extremity. It was a tall tree, of a kind
I did not know, and my weight upon its tapering top must have
exerted a considerable force upon its loosened lower end. Catching
a branch that seemed strong enough to bear me, I dropped with a
jerk. There was a movement of the trunk, and I heard a wrenching
sound below, but the roots still held fast. I climbed up again with
the quickness I had learned at sea, and again threw myself down.

This time I produced the effect I desired; the roots gave way, and
in a moment I found myself on the ground, somewhat scratched and
bruised, but sound of bone and limb. The fallen tree lay full
across the gorge, its foliage completely filling the space, save
for a narrow gap between it and the ground, through which a man or
a dog might crawl, but not a horse.

I ran back to Uncle Moses, lifted him to his feet, and, assisting
him with one hand, the muskets clasped in the other, I led him up
the gorge with what haste I might. We had gone but a little way
when I heard the shou