I drew myself farther into the darkness, looking about me, shivering and rubbing my stiffened limbs.
"How do you feel?" he asked, without turning his head.
I told him I felt rested, and thanked him so earnestly for his great kindness to me that he began to laugh and chuckle all to himself and drag his great chin to and fro across his knuckles.
"Consider yourself fortunate, eh?" he repeated, rising to come into the thicket and squat on his haunches beside me.
"Yes," said I, wondering what he found so droll in the situation.
"Ever hear of Catamount Jack?" he inquired, after a moment.
"Yes; you mean Jack Mount, the highwayman? But you are mistaken; the man who follows me is not Jack Mount," I replied, smiling.
"Sure?"
"Oh yes," I said, bitterly; "I ought to know."
"What do you know about Jack Mount?" he asked.