t he knew
would be a bloody battle, Wetzel calmly went to sleep. Knowing the
hunter to be as bloodthirsty as a tiger, Joe had expected he would
rush to a combat with his foes; but, no, this man, with his keen
sagacity, knew when to creep upon his enemy; he bided that time,
and, while he waited, slept.

Joe could not close his eyes in slumber. Through the interstices in
the branches he saw the stars come out one by one, the darkness
deepened, and the dim outline of tall trees over the dark hill came
out sharply. The moments dragged, each one an hour. He heard a
whippoorwill call, lonely and dismal; then an owl hoot monotonously.
A stealthy footed animal ran along the log, sniffed at the boughs,
and then scurried away over the dry leaves. By and by the dead
silence of night fell over all. Still Joe lay there wide awake,
listening--his heart on fire. He was about to rescue Nell; to kill
that hawk-nosed renegade; to fight Silvertip to the death.

The hours passed, but not Joe's passionate eagerness. When at last
he saw the crescent moon gleam silver-white over the black hilltop
he knew the time was nigh, and over him ran thrill on thrill.

Chapter XVI.

When the waning moon rose high enough to shed a pale light over
forest and field, two dark figures, moving silently from the shade
of the trees, crossed the moonlit patches of ground, out to the open
plain where low on the grass hung silver mists.

A timber wolf, gray and gaunt, came loping along with lowered nose.
A new scent brought the animal to a standstill. His nose went up,
his fiery eyes scanned the plain. Two men had invaded his domain,
and, with a short, dismal bark, he dashed away.

Like spectres, gliding swiftly with noiseless tread, the two
vanished. The long grass had swallowed them.

Deserted once again seemed the plain. It became unutterably lonely.
No stir, no sound, no life; nothing but a wide expanse bathed in
sad, gray light.

The moon shone steadily; the silver radiance mellowed; the stars
paled before this brighter glory.

Slowly the night hours wore away.

On the other side of the plain, near where the adjoining forest
loomed darkling, the tall grass parted to disclose a black form. Was
it only a deceiving shade cast by a leafy branch--only a shadow?
Slowly it sank, and was lost. Once more the gray, unwavering line of
silver-crested grass tufts was unbroken.

Only the night breeze, wandering caressingly over the grass, might
have tol