soul. After thinking deeply in silence for a few
moments, he spoke of the plan more fully, even freely, as he was in the
habit of speaking in the bosom of his own family. There was no one else
present; even the servants were gone out of the room. Moreover, he had
been drinking, as his nephew suspected, and the stimulant, together with
the excitement, carried him beyond all prudence. He did not even lower
his tone.

"Yes, we begin the good work this very night. We've got the chance we
have been waiting for--the chance to catch those cutthroats red-handed!
We had news yesterday that three men were coming over the Wilderness
Road, bringing a large sum of money to buy land. The negotiation has
been under way for weeks. We have learned that this fact, and the time
when these men are expected to pass through here, are both as well known
at Duff's Fort as they are to us. We have also had news of the coming of
a large flatboat with a rich cargo, which is due to pass down the river
by Duff's Fort some time during to-morrow night. Those hungry demons are
said to be ready and waiting for the travellers by land and water--and
we are ready and waiting for them! Just let them lift a hand to rob or
murder, and we will be on hand, too! The attorney-general has sent a
large posse of picked men down the river to come up overland on the
further side of the fort. Another posse has gone round by the swamp to
guard that quarter, and there is a boat in readiness on the other side
of the river, well armed and fully manned. Yes, we've got the scoundrels
safe enough this time! We've run them to earth at last. There is only
one loophole, and the attorney-general himself is to guard that--the
path round Anvil Rock. That is the band's highway. The rock is their
rallying-point and we couldn't see at first how we were to watch it
without putting the scoundrels on their guard. To send any number of
men, even two or three, in that direction, would have been to give the
alarm at once--as the moon is about full. After consultation, it was
decided that the attorney-general alone should attend to this delicate
part of the plan. It was his own suggestion that he should go to Anvil
Rock immediately after dark to-morrow night, and wait there in the
shadow--watching everything that passes--till his men join him, after
beating the bushes and going over the country with a drag-net. It's a
dangerous task that he has taken on himself, notwithstanding that the
pos