Guy Rivers | Page 6

animal, and the sort of beast which had occasioned his
anxieties. He was not much longer left in doubt as to the cause of the
animal's excitement. A few bounds brought him unexpectedly into a
pathway, still girdled, however, by a close thicket--and having an
ascent over a hill, the top of which was of considerable elevation
compared with the plain he had been pursuing. As the horse entered
this pathway, and began the ascent, he shyed suddenly, and so abruptly,
that a less practised rider would have lost his seat.
"Quiet, beast! what do you see?"
The traveller himself looked forward at his own query, and soon
discovered the occasion of his steed's alarm. No occasion for alarm,
either, judging by appearances; no panther, no wolf, certainly--a man
only--looking innocent enough, were it not for the suspicious fact that
he seemed to have put himself in waiting, and stood directly in the
midst of the path that the horseman was pursuing.

Our traveller, as we have seen, was not wholly unprepared, as well to
expect as to encounter hostilities. In addition to his pistols, which were
well charged, and conveniently at hand, we may now add that he
carried another weapon, for close quarters, concealed in his bosom. The
appearance of the stranger was not, however, so decided a
manifestation of hostility, as to justify his acting with any haste by the
premature use of his defences. Besides, no man of sense, and such we
take our traveller to be, will force a quarrel where he can make his way
peacefully, like a Christian and a gentleman. Our young traveller very
quietly observed as he approached the stranger--
"You scare my horse, sir. Will it please you to give us the road?"
"Give you the road?--Oh! yes! when you have paid the toll, young
master!"
The manner of the man was full of insolence, and the blood, in a
moment, rushed to the cheeks of the youth. He divined, by instinct, that
there was some trouble in preparation for him, and his teeth were
silently clenched together, and his soul nerved itself for anticipated
conflict. He gazed calmly, however, though sternly, at the stranger,
who appeared nothing daunted by the expression in the eyes of the
traveller. His air was that of quiet indifference, bordering on contempt,
as if he knew his duties, or his man, and was resolved upon the course
he was appointed to pursue. When men meet thus, if they are persons of
even ordinary intelligence, the instincts are quick to conceive and act,
and the youth was now more assured than ever, that the contest awaited
him which should try his strength. This called up all his resources, and
we may infer that he possessed them in large degree, from his quiet
forbearance and deliberation, even when he became fully sensible of
the insolence of the person with whom he felt about to grapple.
As yet, however, judging from other appearances, there was no
violence meditated by the stranger. He was simply insolent, and he was
in the way. He carried no weapons--none which met the sight, at least,
and there was nothing in his personal appearance calculated to occasion
apprehension. His frame was small, his limbs slight, and they did not
afford promise of much activity. His face was not ill favored, though a

quick, restless black eye, keen and searching, had in it a lurking
malignity, like that of a snake, which impressed the spectator with
suspicion at the first casual glance. His nose, long and sharp, was
almost totally fleshless; the skin being drawn so tightly over the bones,
as to provoke the fear that any violent effort would cause them to force
their way through the frail integument. An untrimmed beard, run wild;
and a pair of whiskers so huge, as to refuse all accordance with the thin
diminutive cheeks which wore them; thin lips, and a sharp
chin;--completed the outline of a very unprepossessing face, which a
broad high forehead did not tend very much to improve or dignify.
Though the air of the stranger was insolent, and his manner rude, our
young traveller was unwilling to decide unfavorably. At all events, his
policy and mood equally inclined him to avoid any proceeding which
should precipitate or compel violence.
"There are many good people in the world"--so he thought--"who are
better than they promise; many good Christians, whose aspects would
enable them to pass, in any crowd, as very tolerable and becoming
ruffians. This fellow may be one of the unfortunate order of virtuous
people, cursed with an unbecoming visage. We will see before we
shoot."
Thus thought our traveller, quickly, as became his situation. He
determined accordingly, while foregoing none of his precautions, to see
farther into the designs of the