o himself; "I
must take him by surprise if I can."

After a quarter of a mile's run he reached the foot of the hill, and
near its crest, three-quarters of a mile away, caught sight of the
figure of a man. A moment later he had passed over the crest. Julian
started at full speed up the hill. There was no need to follow the
footprints now; indeed the strong wind that was blowing had swept the
snow into the hollows, and the face of the hill was bare. When he
reached the top of the hill he had decreased his distance considerably.
He saw to his surprise that the man was bearing to the right, a course
that would ere long bring him to the edge of the cliff. The run up the
hill had left him breathless, and for some time the man, who was also
running, fully maintained his lead. Then Julian began to gain upon him.
The man had again changed his course, and was now going parallel with
the line of cliffs. Three miles from the point where he had reached the
top Julian was within a quarter of a mile of him. He would have caught
him before this, had he not been obliged at times to make detours so as
to avoid passing high ground, where the man, if he looked back, would
have perceived him. By this time he was almost sure that the fugitive
was a poacher, who had been recently released from a term of two years
in prison for poaching in Mr. Faulkner's preserves. At last he saw him
turn sharp to the right again. "Where on earth is he going?" Julian said
to himself. "The cliffs are not many hundred yards away."

Hitherto he had supposed that the man was keeping away from the cliff to
avoid meeting any of the coast-guards who would be on duty there, but
this change of direction puzzled him completely. Keeping his eye on the
poacher, he saw him enter a small clump of bushes, from which he did not
emerge. Julian at once slackened his pace down to a walk. It was likely
enough that the man had noticed that he was being pursued, and had
determined to rid himself of the pursuer. It was not a pleasant idea,
that the fellow might now be kneeling among the bushes with his gun at
his shoulder.

"It could hardly be that either," he said to himself, "for if he
intended to shoot me he would have turned the other way; for the sound
of his gun would be probably heard by some of the coast-guard, and they
could not fail to see him running away. At any rate," he muttered, "I am
not going to turn back after such a chase as I have had."

Standing still and lo