rst vivacity of the surprise) came near
to pay the forfeit of his life, and was, in fact, inhumanly mishandled;
but Secundra, in the midst of threats and cruelties, stuck to it with
extraordinary loyalty, that he was quite ignorant of his master's plans,
which might indeed be true, and of the manner of his escape, which was
demonstrably false. Nothing was therefore left to the conspirators but
to rely entirely on the skill of Mountain. The night had been frosty,
the ground quite hard; and the sun was no sooner up than a strong thaw
set in. It was Mountain's boast that few men could have followed that
trail, and still fewer (even of the native Indians) found it. The Master
had thus a long start before his pursuers had the scent, and he must
have travelled with surprising energy for a pedestrian so unused, since
it was near noon before Mountain had a view of him. At this conjuncture
the trader was alone, all his companions following, at his own request,
several hundred yards in the rear; he knew the Master was unarmed; his
heart was besides heated with the exercise and lust of hunting; and
seeing the quarry so close, so defenceless, and seeming so fatigued, he
vaingloriously determined to effect the capture with his single hand. A
step or two farther brought him to one margin of a little clearing; on
the other, with his arms folded and his back to a huge stone, the Master
sat. It is possible Mountain may have made a rustle, it is certain, at
least, the Master raised his head and gazed directly at that quarter of
the thicket where his hunter lay; "I could not be sure he saw me,"
Mountain said; "he just looked my way like a man with his mind made up,
and all the courage ran out of me like rum out of a bottle." And
presently, when the Master looked away again, and appeared to resume
those meditations in which he had sat immersed before the trader's
coming, Mountain slunk stealthily back and returned to seek the help of
his companions.

And now began the chapter of surprises, for the scout had scarce
informed the others of his discovery, and they were yet preparing their
weapons for a rush upon the fugitive, when the man himself appeared in
their midst, walking openly and quietly, with his hands behind his back.

"Ah, men!" says he, on his beholding them. "Here is a fortunate
encounter. Let us get back to camp."

Mountain had not mentioned his own weakness or the Master's
disconcerting gaze upon the thicket, so that (with a