inate if not a primary, motive, inducing
him to take possession of the disputed land, was a desire to be near
Hannah. Nor was this wish without its appropriate justification; for,
though not strictly beautiful, Hannah was quite pretty, and--what is
better in a frontier girl--active, fresh, and rosy. At the time of
Grayson's arrival in the settlement, she was a few months past eighteen;
and was as fine material for a border wife, as could be found in the new
state. The former intimacy was soon renewed, and before the end of two
months, it was agreed that they should be married, as soon as her
father's consent could be obtained.

But this was not so easily compassed; for, all this time, Elwood had
been brooding over his defeat, and devising ways and means of recovering
the much-coveted land.

At length, after many consultations with a fellow named Driscol, who
acted as his lieutenant in the regulator company, he acceded to a
proposition, made long before by that worthy, but rejected by Elwood on
account of its dishonesty. He only adopted the plan, now, because it was
apparently the only escape from permanent defeat; and long chafing under
what he considered a grievous wrong, had made him reckless of means, and
determined on success, at whatever cost.

One morning, about a week after the taking of this resolution, it was
announced that one of Elwood's horses had been stolen, on the night
before; and the regulators were straightway assembled, to ferret out and
punish so daring an offender. It happened (accidently, _of course_) to
be a horse which had cast one of its shoes, only the day before; and
this circumstance rendered it easy to discover his trail. Driscol,
Elwood's invaluable lieutenant, discovered the track and set off upon
it, almost as easily as if he had been present when it was made. He led
the party away into the prairie toward the east; and though his
companions declared that they could now see nothing of the trail, the
sharp-sighted lieutenant swore that it was "as plain as the nose on his
face"--truly, a somewhat exaggerated expression: for the color, if not
the size, of that feature in his countenance, made it altogether too
apparent to be overlooked! They followed him, however, convinced by the
earnestness of his asseverations, if not by their own eyes, until, after
going a mile toward the east, he began gradually to verge southward,
and, having wound about at random for some time, finally took a direc