r exchange of civilities had
followed, passed on and out of sight. But for a while after their
departure Asa stood unmoving with his head intently bent in an attitude
of listening--and though his rifle still nestled unshifted in its
cradling elbow, the fingers of the trigger hand twitched a little and
the brown eyes were again agate-hard. Finally the guide's mouth line
relaxed from the straight tautness of whatever emotion had caused that
stiffening of posture, and the lips moved in low speech--almost
drawlingly soft of cadence.

"I reckon they've done gone on," he said, as if speaking to himself;
then lifting his eyes to his companion, he explained briefly. "Not
meanin' no offence, I 'lowed hit war kinderly charitable ter ye ter let
them fellers know ye jest fell in with me accidental like. They wouldn't
favour ye no great degree ef they figgered me an' you was close
friends."

"And yet," hazarded McCalloway, groping in the bewilderment of this
strange environment, "you greeted each other amicably enough."

Gregory's lips twisted at the corners into a satirical smile.

"When they comes face ter face with me in ther highroad," he answered
calmly, "we meets an' makes our manners ther same es anybody else--a
man's _got_ ter be civil. But we keeps a'watchin' one another outen ther
tails of our eyes, jest ther same. Them two fellers air Blairs an' them
an' ther Carrs is married in an' out an' back an' fo'th twell they're
all as thick tergether as pigs outen ther same litter."

The traveller's question came a little incredulously.

"You mean--that those men are your actual enemies?"

"_I'd_ call 'em enemies. I knows thet they aims ter git me some day--ef
so be they're able."

"And you--?"

The tall man in the road looked steadily into the face of his companion
for a moment, then said deliberately, "Me? Oh, of course, I aims ter
carcumvent 'em--ef so be _I'm_ able."

When the newcomer had reached a point from which he no longer needed
guidance Asa Gregory wheeled and began to back-track on his steps, but
before he had covered a half mile he turned abruptly from the road and
was swallowed in the thicket where the waxen confusion of rhododendron
and laurel, the tangle of holly and thorn seemed solid and impenetrable.
He went with head bent and noiseless footfall--though the sifting leaves
were crisp--but with eye, ear and nostril delicately alert and
receptive.

As Asa Gregory slipped, shadow like, among the shift