rate.' It was with a feeling akin to a shudder that Roland felt the
touch of his guide's hand; but the arrangement was successful, and
the two got over the ground at a rapid pace. Every maze and tree in
that dismal swamp seemed to be known to the guide; and he swerved to
right and left,--sometimes so changing his course that it seemed as
if he were retracing his steps--with such astonishing swiftness as to
completely bewilder our hero.

'I wonder,' observed Roland, 'that the law does not reach you here
by the aid of bloodhounds; they filled the wood with dogs this
morning for my benefit.'

'They tried that twice, but it didn't turn out profitable,' replied
the robber.

'How did you elude them?'

'Why we simply posted ourselves at convenient points and caught the
intruding idiots. Out of a pack of twelve only one got out of the
swamp alive.'

'Have the constabulary ever sought you here?'

'Oh, frequently. Once they were permitted to roam about through the
swamp without molestation. They found nothing for all their searching
but a shed built on the lake's edge, and evidently used by fishing
parties. They then returned and declared that the story of the swamp
being infested was all fudge. A couple of years passed, during which
many a bloated butcher and cattle dealer was relieved of his purse;
and a few who were foolish enough to dispute about the coin were