This movement was several times repeated, at intervals of increasing
length, till, at the end of an hour, forgetting alike the hunt, the
troopers, and the mysterious agents of evil, the young man yielded to the
fatigue of the day. The tall oaks of the adjoining forest stood not more
immovable in the quiet of the tranquil hour, than his frame now leaned
against the side of its narrow habitation.
How much time was thus lost in inactivity, Eben Dudley could never
precisely tell. He always stoutly maintained it could not have been long,
since his watch was not disturbed by the smallest of those sounds from the
woods, which sometimes occur in deep night, and which may be termed the
breathing of the forest in its slumbers. His first distinct recollection,
was that of feeling a hand grasped with the power of a giant. Springing to
his feet, the young man eagerly stretched forth an arm, saying as he did
so, in words sufficiently confused--
"If the buck hath fallen by a shot in the head, I grant him to be thine,
Reuben Ring; but if struck in limb or body, I claim the venison for a
surer hand.
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