ion" piece--old backwoodsmen who had been
indulged in their whim. It might be one of these.

Without hesitation, I headed my horse for the spot, and rode as rapidly
as the underwood would permit me.

I kept on for five minutes or more without halting. I certainly must
have passed the place where the shot had been fired, and yet I saw no
one; but just as I was about to pull up again, a well-known voice
reached me from behind with the words--

"By the jumpin Geehosophat! it ur the young fellur--the capt'n!"

Turning, I beheld my trapper comrades just emerging from the bushes,
where they had cautiously _cached_ themselves, on hearing the
hoof-strokes of my horse, and lain hid till I had passed them.

Rube carried upon his shoulders a large turkey gobbler--the game I had
heard drop--while upon Garey's back I observed the choice portions of a
deer.

"You have been foraging to some advantage," I remarked as they came up.

"Yes, capt'n," replied Garey, "_we_ won't want for rashuns. Not but
that your rangers offered us a plenty to eat; but ye see we couldn't in
honour accept o' it, for we promised to find for ourselves."

"Ye-es, durn it!" added Rube, "we're free mountainee men--ain't a gwine
to sponge on nobody--we ain't."

"An', capt'n," continued Garey, "thar don't appear to be any great
eatin' fixins about the place for yurself neyther: if yu'll just accept
o' the turkey, and one o' these hyar quarters o' the deer-meat, thar's
plenty left for Rube an' me; ain't thar, Rube?"

"Gobs!" was the laconic answer.

I was not loath to satisfy the wish of the hunters--for to say the
truth, the village larder had no such delicacies as either wild turkey
or venison--and having signified my assent, we all three moved away from
the spot. With the trappers for my guides, I should soon get into the
right road. They, too, were on their return to the post. They had been
in the woods since noon. They were both afoot, having left their horses
at the rancheria.

After winding about half-a-mile among the trees, we came out upon a
narrow road. Here my companions, who were unacquainted with the
neighbourhood, were at fault as well as myself: and knew not which
direction to take.

It was dark as pitch, but, as on the night before, there was lightning
at intervals. Unlike the preceding night, however, it was now raining
as if all the sluices of the sky had been set open; and by this time we
were all three of us soaking wet.