dipper"
or drinking-cup, and half-a-dozen common knives, forks, and spoons,
constitute the whole "plenishing" of the hut. The skin of a cougar, not
long killed, hangs against the wall. Beside it are the pelts of other
wild animals--as the grey fox, the racoon, the rufous lynx, musk-rats,
and minks. These, draping the roughly-hewn logs, rob them to some
extent of their rigidity. By the door is suspended an old saddle, of
the fashion known as _American_--a sort of cross between the high-peaked
_silla_ of the Mexicans, and the flat pad-like English saddle. On the
adjacent peg hangs a bridle to match--its reins black with age, and its
bit reddened with rust. Some light articles of female apparel are seen
hanging against the wall, near that sacred precinct where, during the
the night-hours, repose the fair daughters of the squatter.

The cabin is a rude dwelling indeed--a rough casket to contain a pair of
jewels so sparkling and priceless. Just now, it is occupied by two
individuals of a very different character--two men already mentioned--
the hunter Hickman Holt, and his visitor Joshua Stebbins, the
schoolmaster of Swampville. The personal appearance of the latter has
been already half described. It deserves a more detailed delineation.
His probable age has been stated--about thirty. His spare figure and
ill-omened aspect have been alluded to. Add to this, low stature, a
tripe-coloured skin, a beardless face, a shrinking chin, a nose
sharp-pointed and peckish, lank black hair falling over the forehead,
and hanging down almost low enough to shadow a pair of deep-set
weazel-like eyes: give to this combination of features a slightly
sinister aspect, and you have the portrait of Joshua Stebbins. It is
not easy to tell the cause of this sinister expression: for the features
are not irregular; and, but for its bilious colour, the face could
scarcely be termed ill-looking. The eyes do not squint; and the thin
lips appear making a constant effort to look smiling and saint-like.
Perhaps it is this _outward_ affectation of the saintly character--
belying, as it evidently does, the spirit within, that produces the
unfavourable impression. In earlier youth, the face may have been
better favoured; but a career, spent in the exercise of evil passions,
has left more than one "blaze" upon it.

It is difficult to reconcile such a career with the demeanour of the
man, and especially with his present occupation. But Joshua St