The bed appeared smooth, firm, and sandy, and he waded his
horse up the gentle current until he was concealed from the
highway. A place, however, was soon reached where the water came
tumbling down over impassable rocks; and he was compelled to
ascend the wooded shore. This he did on the side nearest to the
mine house, and found that with care he could lead his horse to a
point that could not be, he thought, over half a mile from the
superintendent's cottage. Here there was a little dell around
which the pines grew so darkly and thickly that he determined to
make it his covert should he fail in his first attempt. His object
now was to see if his estimate of proximity to the mine was
correct; and leaving his horse, he pushed up the mountain-side. At
last he reached a precipitous ledge. Skirting this a short
distance, he found a place of comparatively easy ascent, and soon
learned with much satisfaction that he was not over two hundred
yards from the thicket opposite Mr. Alford's quarters. These
discoveries all favored possible future operations; and he
retraced his steps, marking his returning path by bits of white
paper, held in place by stones against the high prevailing winds.
Pages:
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85