Beadle's Dime Novels No. 96: Little Moccasin — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

48 LITTLE MOCCASIN. “Very strange!” said the major to himself; “ but—all in good time. If I find it necessary, we shall soon come to a right understanding. The gentleman hates mystery, does he? —well, so do I; and above all, such a mystery as we are now trying to get to the bottom of.” And he laughed to himself, occasionally tapping a tree with his hatchet, as he went by, or snapping a twig, or bending the top of a bush in the direction they had taken. At length, however, he came suddenly to a full stop, and stood awhile, as if debating with himself; and then, after measuring the distance that separated them, with a swift, hur- ried glance, he started away in quite another direction, as if designing to head them off, with a long, wearisome tramp. “ Halloo! what’s that?” exclaimed Gage, at the end of another hour, stopping a little in advance of Fletcher, who was examining another footprint. “ Hist !’—dropping his gun, without hurry or noise, into the hollow of his left arm, and looking at the cap. 13 “ High! Who goes there?” shouted Fletcher. “A friend!” was the answer. *“ Advance, friend, and give the countersign.” “Thunder and lightning!’ answered a voiee from a thicket just ahead of them; and the next moment, forth issued the Old Forester, smoking with perspiration and almost out of breath. He had doubled upon them, it appeared, to some purpose, “ Ah, major! is that you? What luck ?” Bs Pretty fair, on the whole, though I have had the mischief to pay in trying to head you off, and’ am almost done up, as you see.” “Well, and why did you want to seul us off ” “ How would you like a supper of bear-steak ?” “ Above all things !—but what do you mean ?” “Mean! I mean that I have treed a bear, and if you had been with me, or the dogs, we might have had some sport.” “A bear! at this season of the year—in the dead of win- ter! Why, he would: be hardly worth killing,” said Gage, “ except for his pelt.” “ Generally speaking, you are right,” said the major ; “ but in this particular case, you will find an exception—my bear comiclbooks.com