an was there--there across the opening in
the forest with his eyes fixed upon the supine figure near the fire. Had
he not been warned by that mysterious feeling which had kept his eyes
open and his nerves alert he, Enoch Harding, might now be lying
unconscious with a deadly weapon trained upon him!

And then the shot was fired! Enoch expected it, yet the explosion almost
betrayed him to the enemy. A gasp of terror left his lips. Incidental
with the explosion he heard the thud of the ball as it penetrated the
log, and the shock of the impact actually stirred the dummy. It leaped
upon the uneven ground!

This fact was an awful accessory to the attempted murder. The inanimate
object had moved as a human being would if suddenly shot through a vital
part. Perhaps the very gasp of horror Enoch had uttered reached the ears
of him who had fired from ambush. At least the enemy did not seek to
come nearer. Indeed, the youth heard a crash in the brush and then the
retreat of rapid footsteps. Having done, as he supposed, the awful deed,
the murderer fled from the spot. Enoch had half risen to his feet. Now
he sank upon his knees, clasped his hands, and thanked God for his
preservation.

But he did not leave the sanctuary of the forest's shadow until he was
fully convinced that the villain who had made the attempt upon his life
was far away. Then, still shaking from the nervous terror inspired by
the incident, he crept to the dying fire, secured his cap and coat, and
went back to the roots of the tree again until the growing glow above
the tree-tops announced the rising of the moon. The sky grew bright
rapidly and soon the moonbeams wandered among the straight, handsome
trees and lay calmly upon the earth. He could once more see objects
about him with almost the clearness of full daylight.

Enoch arose and crossed to the clump of brush from which the treacherous
shot had been fired. Through a break in the branches a flood of
moonlight now silvered the earth at this point. He dropped upon one knee
and examined the ground closely. There were the marks of the feet of him
who had tried to shoot a helpless and sleeping human being. Enoch
shuddered and placed his fingers in the impression of the moccasins. The
incident that had just transpired was very real to him now.

But he had not come here merely to assure himself of this fact. The
bullet in the log and the hole through his coat were sufficient, if he
had indeed doubted his eyes