shared by another, for fear measures might be taken to deprive him of
the sole honor and profit he had promised himself of communicating it,
had been jealously noting what had occurred. "Just as I told, Bart;
the old woman has got your story, and there she goes, streaming off
with it, like the house afire, for the great road, through woods,
swamp, and all! Well, it's too late to try to stop her now, to save
her the trouble of going, cause you'd frighten her, likely; besides,
she'd find out you'd been listening. But we'll follow and keep track
of her; may be she'll get lost, and we can cut by her; or may be we
can seem to come kinder accidentally on her, and contrive to get
employed to do her errand, and so let her go back."

With this resolution, he immediately gave chase; and by occasionally
pausing, after entering the forest, to listen to the rustling of her
garments as the intrepid woman rushed through the tangled thickets on
her way, or the cracking of dry twigs under her rapid tread, he was
enabled to trace her course and keep within hearing distance, though
not without exertions which drew forth many an exclamation of surprise
at the speed with which, at such a time and place, she got over the
ground. At length, they both reached the opening on the other side of
the forest opposite to a good-sized house on the main road.

"I vags," exclaimed Bart, pausing and wiping the perspiration from his
face with his sleeve, as he emerged from the wood, "if the perlite
Frenchman, they tell of, who thought women had no legs, had followed
this one through a mile-swamp at the rate she has gone, he would think
a little different about the matter, I guess. But never mind the
tramp, Bart, but still keep your eye on her. There she goes smack into
that house over yonder, which is--let's see, now--Why, that is Major
Ormsbee's, who, I remember now, Harry told me, was her brother. Well,