Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 40: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ON THE TRAIL house, my guide entered upon a clearly marked path, along which he made his way with the easy self assurance he would have shown in passing to and from the spring near his home. The ground steadily descended for a couple of miles, when we reached the bottom of the valley which had about the same width, and then we arrived at the base of Rattlesnake Ridge which was our destination. Perhaps we should not see any person at all, but more than likely we would, for the White, the Howard and the Baker boys were abroad in the land, and when they met, flint and steel struck. The descent was gradual, leading through an exuberant wood, so matted m many places with undergrowth and vines that the trail was hidden and of little use, but Jake Auckland kept to it, brushing aside vegetation, or ducking under and dodging it with a skill that could not have been surpassed, and which I tried but failed to equal. At intervals, he stopped, and, turning his head, raised.his‘hand as a signal for me to do the same. Doubtless, he was listening, and I also used my ears for all they were worth, but at none of these stoppages did they bring me any knowledge. The edge of the narrow valley was reached without the slightest incident out of the ordinary. Then, curiously enough, the trail broadened and grew more distinct. “ It is this way till we strike Rattle- snake Ridge,” explained my guide. “ And how is it at that point? ”’ ‘‘ Just the same, but the path turns off and goes along the ridge till we reach the road that leads to Manches- ter. We stop follering the trail at the ridge and climb through the woods to the pint I have in mind.” It was clear that Jake was pursuing a well defined plan of his own, which he did not think it necessary to ex- plain to me. He was making for some pomt, where he hoped to pick up defi- nite information of the fate of Dick 2 =A OF A MYSTERY. 31 Montgomery, though how it was to be done passed my powers of conjecture. We had almost crossed the valley and were near the termination of the trail, so far as its use td us was con- cerned, when Jake, who was a dozen paces in advance, and walking with ex- treme caution, abruptly stopped, and, without looking around, raised his hand as a signal for me to halt. I obeyed and kept my eyes on him. He stood motionless for fully five minutes, his head and shoulders bent forward in the attitude of intense at- tention. I knew that those gray eyes and keen ears had detected something SUSPICIOUS. Then I saw his freckled face over his shoulder and he beckoned me to ap- proach. I did so with the utmost care. “What ts it?” I asked ina whisper when I reached his side. “You can see that the trail leads Straight ahead, without a turn for more’n a hundred yards,” he said in a tone as guarded as mine. é6 Yes.” “ Now look along it till close to the turn and then squint to the right and let me know what you see.” Following the direction indicated, I saw the growing pines and oak with plenty of undergrowth, but that was all, and the scene resembled what I had looked upon almost from the moment we left his cabin that morning. “YT detect nothing unusual,” I re- plied after my scrutiny. “What do you obsarve off to the right, fifty feet back from the trail, and atween them two pines, as straight as pipe stems and without a branch for a dozen yards from the ground?” “Nothing, except a mass of dense undergrowth.” “ And they look all right?” ‘‘ So far as I can see.” “ Wal, they ain’t!”’ was the disgusted response; “don’t you notice that the leaves are faded and drooping like? ”’ “T have pretty good eyesight, Jake. but it is beyond my power to see that.” eco