The Huge Hunter

rred, and it was just beginning to grow dark when th

or two of great danger, in case the Indians made any search for them

ry quietly down-stream for about half an hour, when th

n 'long shore,' said he; 'you'd better run i

he current, formed an impenetrable screen. As the log, guided thither, floated beneath

then thar'll be no fear of the

umfin'!' whispe

it?' as

now till yees

n' long the banks,

motest idea of the meaning of the words uttered, but the trapper told them that they were inquiring of each other whether anyth

ith the current. They kept the river until daylight, when, having been in the water so long, they concluded it best to land and rest

ty of hunters who accompanied them to St. Louis, where the trapper h

hich he received during the explosion and sinking of the steamer. When the I

'm goin' to stay. I was a fool ever to leave it for this confounded place. I cou

e railroad, at thirty-siven cents a day

n' all the gold yor want, wo

out?' asked McSquizzle, somewhat impa

know away out West, that I call Wolf Ravine, whar thar's enough gold to make b

n Hopkins, not daring to hope that he would reveal

ld boss of mine went down with the steamer, he carried a powerful heft of gold with him,

d that, I'd taken a

d to do what I could toward payin' it back the first chance I got. I didn't say nothin' of it when we was on our way, 'cause I wa

ow?' eagerly i

n thar's too much snow onto the ground, and then I must s

ickey and Ethan were more anxious to go out upon the prairies than they had been a year and a half before, when the

hey would set out on their return for St. Louis, where the trapper would m

eir passage to their homes, and gave them a snug sum over. Like the Indian, he never could for

spring Mickey and Ethan appeared in St. Louis, where they

begun, there was no time lost in unnecessary delay. The purse of Baldy Bicknell was deep, and he had not the common habit of intoxication, which takes so much substan

ge of an immense prairie, while a river of considerable size flowed by the rear, and by a curious circ

with immense bowlders and rocks, while large

said Baldy when they had spent

ken, where is the go

t I call the important

grandmither observed, whin she fell off the

he hunter, as he pointed to the wi

geit it

looked after first,' was the reply, 'and we'v

at last in discovering a retreat in the rocks, where they were

grazing place for their ani

ly rich deposit of gold in one portion of the ravine, and the men fell to wo

on his first discovery of it he had shot a large mountain wolf, th

wealth. Indians of the most treacherous and implacable kind were

down upon them; and had it not been for the safe retreat, which the

better part of two days, by which time they had slain too many

ound that every one had been completely riddled by balls. Th

ought to!' exclaimed Baldy Bicknell, when he returned.

his rifle over his shoulder