inally pulled
up at a spot where a very slight pathway diverged. Here he sat quite
still for a few minutes in meditation. Then he muttered softly to
himself--for Ben was often and for long periods alone in the woods and
on the plains, and found it somewhat "sociable-like" to mutter his
thoughts audibly:

"You've not cotched him up after all, Ben," he said. "Black Polly
a'most equals a streak o' lightnin', but the Britisher got too long a
start o' ye, an' he's clearly in a hurry. Now, if I follow on he'll
hear your foot-falls, Polly, an' p'raps be scared into goin' faster to
his doom. Whereas, if I go off the track here an' drive ahead so as to
git to the Blue Fork before him, I'll be able to stop the Buck's little
game, an' save the poor fellow's life. Buck is sure to stop him at the
Blue Fork, for it's a handy spot for a road-agent, [a highwayman] and
there's no other near."

Hunky Ben was pre-eminently a man of action. As he uttered or thought
the last word he gave a little chirp which sent Black Polly along the
diverging track at a speed which almost justified the comparison of her
to lightning.

The Blue Fork was a narrow pass or gorge in the hills, the footpath
through which was rendered rugged and dangerous for cattle because of
the rocks that had fallen during the course of ages from the cliffs on
either side. Seen from a short distance off on the main track the
mountains beyond had a brilliantly blue appearance, and a few hundred
yards on the other side of the pass the track forked--hence the name.
One fork led up to Traitor's Trap, the other to the fort of Quester
Creek, an out-post of United States troops for which Hunky Ben was bound
with the warning that the Redskins were contemplating mischief. As Ben
had conjectured, this was the spot selected by Buck Tom as the most
suitable place for waylaying his intended victim. Doubtless he supposed
that no Englishman would travel in such a country without a good deal of
money about him, and he resolved to relieve him of it.

It was through a thick belt of wood that the scout had to gallop at
first, and he soon outstripped the traveller who kept to the main and,
at that part, more circuitous road, and who was besides obliged to
advance cautiously in several places. On nearing his destination,
however, Ben pulled up, dismounted, fastened his mare to a tree, and
proceeded the rest of the way on foot at a run, carrying his repeating
rifle with him. He ha