side, and rugged waste ground, with tangled patches of undergrowth,
on the other. Here and there a clearing had been made in the woods,
and a rough dwelling erected, but they were apparently deserted; there
were no signs of life about them this evening. The man rode easily,
yet with constant watchfulness. The times were unsettled and dangerous,
and the slightest unfamiliar sound instantly attracted his attention.
He was accustomed to be on the alert, and whatever thoughts held sway
behind his gloomy looks, they were not sufficiently absorbing to render
him careless for a moment.

Suddenly he pulled his horse to a standstill, turning sharply in his
saddle to look back upon the way he had come. Then he examined his
holster, and, moving his horse to a position which gave him a better
command of the road, sat quietly waiting.

The sound which had attracted his attention grew rapidly nearer, and
presently three riders came round the bend at a gallop, one some paces
in advance of his companions. He pulled up short, seeing the motionless
horseman by the roadside, scenting danger and ready for it; but the
next moment he raised his hat with pronounced courtesy, and bowed low
in his saddle.

"Pardon, monsieur," he said, "but one sees a possible enemy in so
unexpected an encounter."

"Unexpected, monsieur?"

"I said so. May I add fortunate, too?"

"Such enemies as you suggest seldom stand singly," was the rather