, they had many stolen meetings, unknown to
their persecutor, and this was no other than dame Spikeman herself.
Destitute of children, she had been early attracted by the beautiful
orphan, for whom she soon learned to feel the affection of a mother.
Into her tender bosom the unprotected girl poured her griefs, and
always met with sympathy and good counsel. At first, the good dame
attempted to alter the determination of her husband, but finding her
efforts in vain, she finally abandoned them, and contented herself
with favoring the lovers by every means in her power, without his
knowledge, trusting to the chapter of accidents for the result.
Perhaps a few pieces of coin, distributed by Arundel now and then
among the servants, contributed to preserve the knowledge of their
meetings from the Assistant, who, whatever he might suspect, found it
difficult, engaged in his business, to detect them.

While we have been making this tedious but necessary explanation, the
young man has had time to reach the thickest part of the forest, lying
midway betwixt the residence of the knight and his place of
destination. He followed a narrow path made originally by the Indians,
as they traversed the woods in the manner peculiar to themselves,
known by the name of Indian file, now skirting the edge of a morass,
now penetrating through a thick undergrowth, and now walking in more
open spaces and under the shade of enormous trees.

Arundel, as he walked along with his piece in his hand, had kept
watchfully looking round to discern any game within range, when, as he
reached one of these open spaces, his eyes fell upon a dark object
crouched upon a lower limb of a tree immediately over the path before
him, and he instantly recognised the animal as the cougar or American
panther. It is the habit of the creature thus to conceal itself in
trees, waiting till its prey passes along, when, with one bound, it
springs upon its back, and quickly succeeds, by its own weight, and by
tearing the veins and arteries of the neck, in bringing it to the
ground.

The youth stopped, and gazed upon the motionless beast, whose
half-shut eyes he could see winking at him. He lay extended upon the
limb, his forward feet spread out at full length, on which rested his
small round head, with little ears falling back almost flat, his hind
legs drawn up under his body, and his flexible tail hanging a short
distance beneath the bough. The dark reddish color of the hair o