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Show 218 HICIIAIW II UHDIS. way to the other!'' cried tho criu1inal in scrcat~ing accents, and, while drawing It is knife with one hand, he auncd to grasp the throat of the stranger ·with the other. Tin~ the latter was too wily a scout to become an cnsy victi1~. Tie had walcltcd J1is man, even as the cnt watches the d<'stmcd prey-to whom she suffers a seeming freedom ::md sacrifices at the very moment of its o-rca test apparent security. "~ith the movement of rickott to ~trike, wns that of the stranger to defend l•imsclf- nor to defCnd himself only. '!'he strength of the former was far inferior to thnt of the man whom he assailed, and instead of taking him by the throat, be found l1i s g rasp eluded, and, at the same moment, the arm which held the weapon, was secured in a gripe which efi'ectnally balled all his cfl'orts nt release. "Don't be rash!" said the stranger, with a laugh in which there was no sign of anger. "Don't be rash- it's of 110 usc! You're only fighting agninst your own good, and your powder's wasted on me. I'm too much for you, and that's enough to make you c1uiet. But th ere's another and a better reason than that to keep you quiet. I'm your friend, I tell you - your best fri end - and I cnn bring you many friends. I'm come all this distance to befrieml yon; and, if you'll have patience and be civil, you'll soon see how." "Let go my arm!" saicl Pickett, chafing furiously, but still ineffectually, so far as his own efforts to release himself were concerned. "'V ell, I'll do that," said the stranger, releasing him at the same instant; "but, mind me, if you try to use it again, as you did just now, it will be worse for you! I never sutTer a dog ~o worry me tw ice. I'm sure to draw his teeth, so that he w1ll bite no other; and, if you lift that knife at me agnin, I'll put a plug into your bosom, that will go quite as deep, if not deeper, than your bullet did in the bosom of that young fellow!" "You know not what you say - yon saw not that!" was tbe faint answer of Pick<'tt. "It's a true bill, man, anll I 'll swear to it! How sl10uld I know it, if 1 did not see it 1 I saw the lad tumble-saw you scud from the place, rifle in hand, and take to your creature, which was fastened to a dwarf poplar, in a little wood of pop· lars. What say you to that 1 Is it not true 1" TIII~ MY!:;'fiC BROTlii-:RHOOD. 219 Pickett leaned against a tree, silent and exhausted. lie had no nnswcr. 'rhc fates had tracked him to his den. "Nay! fear nothing, though I know your secret," said the other, appronchiug him. "You arc in no sort of danger-not from me, at least; on the contrary, you have done our friends o. service-have saved them from the trouble of doing the very thing that we would have had to do for ourselves. Three of us pursued the man that you shot; and, if he had got away, which he must have done, but for your bullet, it would have been an ugly and losing matter for us. You did us good service then, I tell you - you volunteered to be one of our stril~ers, and we have got the game. The search of the body gave us a rich booty, and his death :~ degree of safety, which we might not else have enj oyed." "'V ell ; wasn't that enough for you1 Why did you come after me 1" demanded Pickett, bitterly. "Why follow me with your infernal secret 1" "Lord love you! to give you your share of the spoil, to be sure-what else 1 Do you think us so mean as to keep all for ourselves, and give none to a man who did, I may say, the dirtiest part of the business 1 Oh, no, brother! no! I've brought you your share of the booty. llere it is. You will see when you come to look at it, that we are quite as liberal as we should be. You have, here, a larger amount, than is usually given to a. striker." And, rtS the stranger spoke these words, he pulled out something from his pocket, which he presented to his astonished auditor. Pickett thrust away the extended hand, as l1e replied:- "I want none of it! I will have no share-I am not one of you!" "But that's all nonsense, my brother. You must take it. You must be one of us. When n. striker refuses his share, we suspect that something's going wrong, and lte takes his share, or he pa~ s for it, by our laws," was the reply of the stranger, who contmued to press the money upon him. "Your laws! -of what laws-of whom do you speak 1" "Of our fraternity, to be sure! - of the :Mystic Brotherhood. P erhaps, you have never heard of the Mystic Brotherhood 1" "NeYer." |