I'm either mightily mistaken," said he at length, with a grave look,
"or that thar horse and saddle is the property of Ben Younker; and I
reckon it's the same critter as is rid by Ella Barnwell. Heaven forbid,
sweet lady, that it be thou as met with this terrible misfortune!--but
ef it be, by the Power that made me, I swar to follow on thy trail; and
ef I meet any of thy captors, then, Betsey, I'll just call on you for a
backwoods sentiment."

As he concluded, the hunter turned with a look of affection towards his
rifle, which he firmly grasped with a nervous motion. At this moment,
the dog, which had been busying himself by running to and fro with his
nose to the ground, suddenly paused, and laying back his ears, uttered
a low, fierce growl. The hunter cast toward him a quick glance; and
dropping upon his knees, applied his ear to the earth, where he remained
some fifteen seconds; then rising to his feet, he made a motion with his
hand, and together with Caesar withdrew into the thicket.

For some time no sound was heard to justify this precaution of the
woodsman; but at length a slight jarring of the ground became apparent,
followed by a noise at some distance, resembling the clatter of horses'
feet, which, gradually growing louder as the cause drew nearer, soon
became sufficiently so to put all doubts on the matter at rest. In less
than five minutes from the disappearance of the hunter, some eight
or ten horses, bearing as many riders, approached the hill from the
direction of Wilson's, and began to descend into the ravine. The party,
composed of both sexes, were in high glee--some jesting, some singing,
and some laughing uproariously. Nothing occurred to interrupt their
merriment, until they began to lose themselves among the cedars of the
hollow, when the foremost horse suddenly gave a snort and bounded to one
side--a movement which his companion, close behind, imitated--while the
rider of the latter, a female, uttered a loud, piercing scream of
fright. In a moment the whole party was in confusion--some turning their
horses to the right about and riding back towards Wilson's, at headlong
speed--and some pausing in fear, undecided what to do. The two foremost
horses now became very refractory, rearing and plunging in a manner that
threatened to unseat their riders every moment. Of the two, the one
ridden by the lady was the most ungovernable; and in spite of her
efforts to quiet or hold him, he seized the bit in his