hated Jass wuss' n anybody on earth, 'cept old Brayton; 'n' ef he
wus glad o' the chance o' killin' him, why-the Lord air merciful,
Isom; the Bible air true, 'n' hit says an ' eye fer an eye, a tooth fer a
tooth,' 'n' I never knowed hit to fail-but the Lord air merciful. Ef
Steve would only jes repent, 'n' ef, 'stid o' fightin' the Lord by takin'
human life, he'd fight fer Him by savin' it, I reckon the Lord would
fergive him. Fer ef ye lose yer life fer Him, He do say you'll find it
agin somewhar-sometime.

Old Gabe did not see the sullen despair that came into the boy's
tense face. The subtlety of the answer had taken the old man back
to the days when he was magistrate, and his eyes were half closed.
Isom rode away without a word. From the dark of the mill old
Gabe turned to look after him again.

"I'm afeerd he's a-gittin' feverish agin. Hit looks like he's
convicted; but "-he knew the wavering nature of the boy-" I don't
know-I don't know."

Going home an hour later, the old man saw several mountaineers
climbing the path towards Steve Marcum's cabin; it meant the
brewing of mischief; and when he stopped at his own gate, he saw
at the bend of the road a figure creep from the bushes on one side
into the bushes on the other.

It looked like Crump.

III

IT was Crump, and fifty yards behind him was Isom, slipping