"Why Carleton would have no orders issued to them at all, I believe," said
young Rossitur; "he has been saying 'hush' to me all day."

The old gentleman laughed in a way that indicated intelligence with one of
the speakers,--which, appeared not.

"So you've been following the dogs to-day," said he. "Been successful?"

"Not a bit of it," said Rossitur. "Whether we got on the wrong grounds, or
didn't get on the right ones, or the dogs didn't mind their business, or
there was nothing to fire at, I don't know; but we lost our patience and
got nothing in exchange."

"Speak for yourself," said the other. "I assure you I was sensible of no
ground of impatience while going over such a superb country as this."

"It _is_ a fine country," said Mr. Ringgan,--"all this tract; and I ought
to know it, for I have hunted every mile of it for many a mile around.
There used to be more game than partridges in these hills when I was a
young man;--bears and wolves, and deer, and now and then a panther, to say
nothing of rattlesnakes."

"That last mentioned is an irregular sort of game, is it not?" said Mr.
Carleton smiling.

"Well, game is what you choose to make it," said the old gentleman. "I
have seen worse days' sport than I saw once when we were out after
rattlesnakes and nothing else. There was a cave, sir, down under a
mountain a few miles to the south of this, right at the foot of a bluff