come from his heart; and thrilled, for an instant, to the bones of him
who heard it; "as you will; but for fourteen years I have not given this
right hand, in pledge of fellowship, to living man; you alone deserve the
courtesy--there!"

Houseman hesitated, before he took the hand now extended to him.

"Pshaw!" said he, as if indignant at himself, "what! scruples at a
shadow! Come," (grasping the hand) "that's well--so, so; now we are in
the thicket--tread firm--this way--hold," continued Houseman, under his
breath, as suspicion anew seemed to cross him; "hold! we can see each
other's face not even dimly now: but in this hand, my right is free, I
have a knife that has done good service ere this; and if I feel cause to
suspect that you meditate to play me false, I bury it in your heart; do
you heed me?"

"Fool!" said Aram, scornfully, "I should dread you dead yet more than
living."

Houseman made no answer; but continued to grope on through the path in
the thicket, which he evidently knew well; though even in daylight, so
thick were the trees, and so artfully had their boughs been left to cover
the track, no path could have been discovered by one unacquainted with
the clue.

They had now walked on for some minutes, and of late their steps had been
threading a rugged, and somewhat precipitous descent: all this while, the
pulse of the hand Houseman held, beat with as steadfast and calm a throb,
as in the most quiet mood of learned meditation; although Aram could not
but be conscious that a mere accident, a slip of the foot, an