of courage, the possessor of all forest
skill. It must surely be the best of the whole Wyandot tribe. Henry was
willing to give full credit.

But he must deal with such a foe. His safety and perhaps the safety of
many others depended upon it. He could not shake him off; therefore, he
must fight him, and he summoned all his energy and faculties for the
task.

Now began the forest combat between invisible and noiseless forces, but
none the less deadly because neither could see nor hear his foe. Yet
each knew that the other was always there. It was the slight waving of a
bush or the flutter of a leaf, stirred by a moccasin, that told the
tale.

As the hunt, the deadliest of all hunts, proceeded, each became more
engrossed in it, neglecting no precaution, seeking incessantly some
minute advantage. Henry was by nature generous and merciful, but at this
time he did not think of those things. Wilderness necessity did not
permit it.

The reddish tint on trees and bushes faded quite away, the sun was gone,
and the night came, riding down on the world like a black horseman, but
the eyes of the two grew used to the dark as it came, and they continued
their invisible battle, circling back and forth in the forest.

Henry's admiration for his foe increased. He had never encountered
another such warrior. Surpassing skill was his. He knew every trick,
every device of the forest. Every move that Henry tried he met on equal
terms, and, strive as Henry would to see him, he was still unseen.

This singular duel would have exhausted the patience of most men. One or
the other, finding it unbearable, would have exposed himself, but not so
these two. An hour, two hours, passed, and they were still seeking the
advantage. The moon had come out and touched trees and bushes with
silver, but they were still creeping to and fro, seeking a chance for a
shot.

It was Henry who secured the first glimpse. He saw for an instant a face
in a bush fifty yards away, and at the same moment he fired. But he knew
almost before his finger ceased to pull the trigger that he would miss,
and he threw down his head to escape the return shot. He was barely in
time. He heard the bullet pass over him, and it seemed to him that it
sung a taunting little song as it went by. But he was busy reloading his
rifle as fast as he could, and he knew that his foe was doing the same.

The rifle reloaded, a sudden extraordinary idea leaped up in his brain.
It seemed impos