THE GRAVE OE THE SILENT HUNTER. 199 



— what his other name was he had never heard, though he 

 had been at his hut several times. He said the old fellow 

 would be very glad to see us, and would furnish us with a 

 "hill-boy," whom he kept in his employ, to act as a guide 

 and driver for us. We intended now ■ to change our mode 

 of hunting. "We were to be placed by the driver at different 

 "stands," as they are called, meaning places at which, from 

 his knowledge of the country, he knew the deer always 

 passed out -wl^en roused by the dogs from their feeding- 

 grounds. After placing us, he was to return along the ridge 

 for a mile or so with the dogs, and then descending into 

 the bottom, with sound of horns, yells of dogs and other 

 noises, drive the frightened creatures before him to our 

 stands. We found everything at Old Jake's as Charlie ex- 

 pected. We were received with true hunter hospitaUty by 

 the family ; consisting of the old man, his tanned and wrinkled 

 dame, with two stout and comely daughters, who were the 

 very impersonations of buxom good himior. 



We had a merry time of it the first evening, and the next 

 morning, early, were joined by our guide that was to be. He 

 was a droll-looking specimen, surely ! Lank, long, and lantern- 

 jawed, he looked as if the fever and ague of the country bot- 

 toms had, in shaking him into a bag of bones, forgotten to joint 

 him again when he was set up ; yet, withal, it was marvellous to 

 see the cadaverous-looking creature making his way over these 

 rugged hills, far in advance of our active horses, while with 

 every long stride his loose limbs actually seemed to be wrapping 

 round each other. He was called Jabe, as I supposed short for 

 Jabez, and carried a very long specimen of the old-fashioned 

 rifle of our fathers. It was easy enough to see that he was 

 a fine marksman, from the sharp, steady shine of his black 

 eyes beneath the long, coarse, Indian-like hair that hung 

 over them; indeed, I half suspected that the fellow was a 

 half-breed, but had no opportunity of ascertaining ! We had 

 evidence enough of this afterwards. Placing ourselves with 



