Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/296



felt quite an adventurer as he picked his way from blaze to blaze. When with the others he had simply followed their lead. Now all the responsibility rested on him. Of course the frequent patches left by Abner’s hatchet were a sufficient guide even to his untrained eyes. He simply had to keep along this line to pick a correct course, both going and returning. And yet the undertaking was tinged with an air of danger.

In the first place he was alone; secondly, his isolation permitted him to people the woods with hidden foes. He grasped the ax firmly as he advanced and smiled grimly to find himself moving with cautious tread. Once a porcupine leisurely crossed his path and he half-raised the ax, expecting to meet some dangerous enemy.

When about half way down the line he halted irresolute. For some unnamed reason he felt impelled to return.

“Nonsense,” he told himself. “Nothing can 271