THE GRAVE OF 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 when 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 hospitality 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 humor. 
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 
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