of a hill, he paused to eat some of the
cold meat and a piece of the bread Old Mammy had given him that
morning. He was about to continue his journey when the report of a gun
rang through the forest. The sound issued from valley below, reminding
him that the slashers must be quite near. Cautiously now he moved down
the hill, peering keenly ahead, not knowing what to expect next. In a
few minutes a glimmer of light filtered among the trees, showing that
the rebels were camped by a little brook which ran through the valley.
As he slowly advanced, the light became brighter, until presently a
blazing camp-fire burst upon his eyes. Around this the slashers were
ringed, jabbering and quarrelling in an excited manner. What they were
saying Dane could not tell, but as he crept nearer, moving from tree to
tree, he saw a human body lying in the snow a short distance from the
fire. That it was one of the slashers he felt certain, and the
explanation of the shot he had heard. He was not surprised at this,
for he knew a great deal about the brutal and inhuman nature of these
creatures. They disgusted him, and he was more determined than ever to
round them up and put an end to their lawless career. There before him
was almost the last of the gang which for years had proven such a
menace to the country, and interfered with the King's mast-cutters.
That this was a final desperate effort on their part he was sure. He
was very glad to be on hand to confound them in their undertaking.

Leaving the slashers to their own devices, he doubled back upon the
trail for a short distance, plunged off into the deep snow, encircled
the camp, and at length came upon the trail farther ahead. He
travelled slower now, as there was no special hurry. He believed that
the slashers would remain in the valley for some time, and perhaps wait
for dawn before continuing their march.

After awhile he came to the valley where stood the cabin from which he
had fled several years before. He knew every foot of the place, for
here he had often come with his mother. This was her favorite walk,
and he recalled how fond she was of watching him as he played among the
trees and by the little brook. He understood now something of what it
must have meant to such a woman to live for years in the wilderness,
cut off from all social life of which she had been so fond, and meeting
no one of her own sex except the few Indian women who occasionally
visited the h