put on his snowshoes at the foot of the
cliff, waved a farewell to the four heads thrust from "The Alcove"
above, and struck out on the smooth, icy surface of the creek. From this
he presently passed into the woods, and for a long time pursued a course
almost due north.

It was no vague theory that had drawn Henry forth. In one of his
journeyings be had met a hunter who told him of a band of Tories and
Indians encamped toward the north, and he had an idea that it was the
party led by Braxton Wyatt. Now he meant to see.

His information was very indefinite, and he began to discover signs much
earlier than he had expected. Before the end of the first day he saw the
traces of other snowshoe runners on the icy snow, and once he came to a
place where a deer had been slain and dressed. Then he came to another
where the snow had been hollowed out under some pines to make a sleeping
place for several men. Clearly he was in the land of the enemy again,
and a large and hostile camp might be somewhere near.

Henry felt a thrill of joy when he saw these indications. All the
primitive instincts leaped up within him. A child of the forest and of
elemental conditions, the warlike instinct was strong within him. He
was tired of hunting wild animals, and now there was promise of a' more
dangerous foe. For the purposes that he had in view he was glad that
he was alone. The wintry forest, with its two feet of snow covered with
ice, contained no terrors for him. He moved on his snowshoes almost like
a skater, and with all the dexterity of an Indian of the far North, who
is practically born on such shoes.

As he stood upon the brow of a little hill, elevated upon his snowshoes,
he was, indeed, a wonderful figure. The added height and the white glare
from the ice made him tower like a great giant. He was clad completely
in soft, warm deerskin, his hands were gloved in the same material,
and the fur cap was drawn tightly about his head and ears. The
slender-barreled rifle lay across his shoulder, and the blanket and deer
meat made a light package on his back. Only his face was uncovered, and
that was rosy with the sharp but bracing cold. But the resolute blue
eyes seemed to have grown more resolute in the last six months, and the
firm jaw was firmer than ever.

It was a steely blue sky, clear, hard, and cold, fitted to the earth
of snow and ice that it inclosed. His eyes traveled the circle of the
horizon three times, and at the end of t