ady to fire if the
man remained. He held it thus full a minute, at the end of which he
discerned the foolhardy being who had not changed his position in the
least. Hesitating no longer, he pointed his piece directly at his
heart, and discharged it.

"It's your own fault," mused the hunter. "I gave you fair warning and
plenty time to get out the way, and in such places as we're in just
now, we can't afford to stand on ceremony. You must be careful----"

Again the red lightning flamed out, and revealed the man, seated as
before, the sneer on his face having increased, and his eyes flaming
with more dreadful intensity than ever!

"Man or spirit," said O'Hara, now thoroughly startled, "I'll give you
another shot at any rate."

He reloaded, and, awaiting his opportunity, fired again full at the
man's breast. O'Hara's hair nearly lifted the cap from his head, when
he saw his foe sitting unharmed, and as scornful as though no bullet
could wound him. The bravest man has his weakness, and the greatest
weakness of such characters as the man we are dealing with is their
superstition. O'Hara verily believed the man at whom he had fired
possessed more than mortal attributes, and, far more frightened than he
would have been had a score of Shawnees sounded their war-whoop in his
ears, he made a low whistle as a signal for Dick and Dernor to come up.
In a moment they were beside him, curious to know the cause of his
firing.

The next flash of lightning showed three hunters intently staring
toward a man who was sitting composedly on a stump, and staring back at
them with equal intensity.

"You all seen him, didn't you?" asked Tom, in a whisper. Receiving an
affirmative answer, he added:

"Let's all aim square at his breast, and then we'll be sure that one of
us at least will hit him. If that doesn't finish him, there's no use of
trying."

For the third time, the mysterious being braved the deadly bullets,
this time from three separate rifles, and for the third time he was
seen sitting, unharmed and contemptuous, upon the stump.

"It's all a waste of powder," said O'Hara. "We might pour a broadside
from a brigade into him without making him wink."

"Let's go up and take him," said Dick.

"He'll take _us_," said O'Hara, who was not ashamed of his fright in
such a case as this.

"Fudge! don't be frightened; come along. I'll lead."

Thus strengthened, O'Hara moved on behind the two others. Most
assuredly the mysterious per