permit, but before they reached Poteet's the shadows of twilight
began to deepen. The road, like most mountain roads, wound itself
painfully about. At one point they were within a short half-mile of
Poteet's, but a towering wall of rock barred their approach. The road,
accommodating itself to circumstances, allowed the towering wall to
drive it three miles out of the way. Uncle Jake Norris, turning readily
to reminiscences, connected the precipitous shelf with many of the
mysterious disappearances that had at various times occurred in army
and revenue circles.

"Natur' built it," he said lightly, "an' a jaybird showed it to the
boys. Teague, up thar, he 'lowed that a man wi' grey eyes an' a nimble
han' could git on that rock an' lay flat of his belly an' disembowel a
whole army. Them wuz his words--disembowel a whole army."

While Uncle Jake was speaking, the travellers had passed beyond the
wall, but the declivity on their left was still too steep to
accommodate the highway, and so they rode along with the shadows of
night on one side of them and pale symptoms of the day on the other.

Suddenly a thin stream of fire, accompanied by the sharp crack of a
rifle, shot out of the side of the mountain straight at Woodward, and
seemed, as one of his companions said afterwards, to pass through him.
His horse shied with a tremendous lurch, and Woodward fell to the
ground.

"He is shot!" cried one of the young men.

"What devil's work is this?" exclaimed Uucle Jake. "Cap, you ain't
hurt, is you?"

Receiving no reply, for Woodward was stunned into semi-unconsciousness,
Uncle Jake addressed himself to the bushes--

"Come forth," he cried. "Jestify this deed!"

There was a moment's silence, but not a moment's inaction. Uncle Jake
leaped from his horse, and, telling the frightened yoxing men to look
after Woodward, ran up the mountain-side a quarter of a mile, placed
his hands to his mouth, and hallooed three times in rapid succession.
Then he heard Poteet's dogs bark, and he hallooed again. This time he
was answered from above, and he turned and ran back to where he left
Woodward.

When he got there he beheld a sight and heard words that made his blood
run cold. Woodward was still lying upon the ground, but by his side was
kneeling a gaunt and hollow-eyed woman. Her thin grey hair hung loose
upon her shoulders and about her eyes, and the ragged sleeves of her
gown fluttered wildly as she flung her bony arms in the air. S