lesnake still in its coil and giving forth its
ominous rattle. A dexterous blow or two finished the reptile, but the
odor given forth by the creature in its anger filled the hut.

"Pah!" ejaculated Ralph. "I must get out of here. The place would
sicken a dog."

He returned to the open air, now freshened by the vanished rain, and
round to his delight, that a moon several days old was visible in the
west. The clouds had disappeared, and there seemed every prospect of a
clear and quiet night.

"It is light enough to see to travel if I can only find the road
again," he reflected. "Anything is better than staying here."

Taking the direction in which it seemed to him that the trail ought to
be, he sought eagerly for the narrow strip of white that would indicate
the wished for goal. Presently he heard a distant sound.

"It may be the deer a whistling," thought he, listening intently.
"But, no; that ain't made by no deer. I believe--it's--somebody a
coming along."

Some distance to his left Ralph could now detect a connected sound as
if a tune were being whistled. In his eager desire for human
companionship, he cast prudence completely aside and ran forward
shouting:

"Hold on! I'm coming. Hold on till I get there!"

CHAPTER IV.

The Moonshiners and the Railroad.

The whistling stopped suddenly. Ralph kept on, however, in the
direction where he had last heard the sounds, and presently
distinguished two dim forms standing in an open space amid the trees,
through which ran the white thread that indicated the lost trail.

"I say," began the lad, "are you fellows going down the mountain? If
you are, I'd like to go with you. Fact is, I believe I'm lost."

"Halt, there, young feller!" was the reply, given in sharp, stern
tones. "One step further and you'll find half an ounce of lead under
your skin, mebbe."

Ralph obeyed, somewhat puzzled and decidedly alarmed. The men--there
were two of them--drew something over their faces, then ordered the boy
to advance.

He did so, and on drawing near saw that they now wore masks, and had
long sacks swung over their shoulders, with a load of some kind in
either end. When he saw the masks and the bags Ralph understood at
once what their business was.

"Who are you?" demanded one of the men, and the lad could see that he
held a pistol in one hand. "No lyin', now!"

"My name is Granger, and I'm from over on Hiawassee River way. Want to
get down into th