ugh to speak.

The appearance of the man, too, rather troubled Enoch. He was said to be
tall and lean, with a very black face, a huge nose and fiery eyes. The
youth remembered how Simon Halpen looked a few weeks before when he saw
him at Westminster, and this pretty well described the scoundrel. Halpen
was in the Grants--or had been recently. Perhaps he had dared come
across the mountains toward the lake on some errand for the Tory party,
and the thought that the man who had murdered his father and who had
tried to take his own life, might be within rifle shot, troubled the
youth exceedingly. He could not drive away this thought and when finally
he was forced to stop for rest he trembled to think that perhaps the
light of his campfire would attract an enemy more to be feared than
either the wolves or catamounts.

But he built his fire, broiled a piece of meat which the last settler he
spoke to had given him, ate his supper, and then prepared to sleep for a
few hours. The moon would rise late, and he desired to set forward on
his journey again as soon as it was light enough in the forest. Just at
present the darkness shrouded all objects. But when he lay down with his
feet toward the blaze and his head upon a heap of moss for a pillow, he
could not sleep, tired though he was. His nerves were all alive. His
limbs twitched so that he could not keep them still. Every sound of the
forest smote upon his ear with insistence. Although his muscles were
wearied his eyes would not close.

Who was the Yorker that had crossed his path so many times during the
past few hours? What did he desire here in the Otter country? Was he a
spy for the British? or was he upon his own business? And, above all,
was he, Nuck Harding, in danger? The stranger might be roaming the
forest even then, hunting for the messenger of the Green Mountain
chieftain. He had likely heard that Nuck was going from farmer to
farmer, as Nuck had heard of his presence, and the man might contemplate
stopping him. It would be easy for him to creep upon and shoot the
defenseless youth as he lay before the fire.

Nuck's only weapons were his knife and the hatchet stuck in his belt.
Lying there within the circle of light cast by the flames he would be an
easy mark for any enemy. As minute after minute passed it seemed utterly
impossible for him to quench this fear and he finally rose to his feet
and got out of the fire light. He stood in the deep shadow of a tree
trun