“There were several men. It was not known which of them fired the shot.”
“Will ye be so kind, stranger, as to put me on the trail of these men?”
“What would you do?”
“Foller it up, ontil the last one of ’em is wiped out. They’ll never shoot another man. Such a chap as Silverspur!”
“Come, Fred,” remarked one of the party; “don’t carry the joke too far.”
“You take it too hard, my friend,” said the young man, as the hunter’s eyes filled with tears. “I may have been mistaken. In fact, Silverspur is alive and well. Why, Old Blaze! don’t you know me?”
The hunter looked amazed. He seemed hardly to know whether to be angry or pleased; but gladness got the better of indignation, and his face fairly blazed with joy as he grasped the outstretched hand of the young man.
“The livin’ thunder!” he exclaimed. “Who would ever hev thought that ye could fool this child so easy! It’s plain enough now, though shavin’ and ha’r-trimmin’ and settlement fixin’s do make a powerful differ.”
“You will forgive me for my joke, I know, if you are really glad to see me.”