The Eyes of the Woods A story of the Ancient Wilderness   By: Joseph Alexander Altsheler (1862-1919)

By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER

THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

The Guns of Bull Run The Guns of Shiloh The Scouts of Stonewall The Sword of Antietam The Star of Gettysburg The Rock of Chickamaugua The Shades of the Wilderness The Tree of Appomattox

THE WORLD WAR SERIES

The Guns of Europe The Hosts of the Air The Forest of Swords

THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES

The Young Trailers The Forest Runners The Keepers of the Trail The Eyes of the Woods The Free Rangers The Riflemen of the Ohio The Scouts of the Valley The Border Watch

THE TEXAN SERIES

The Texan Star The Texan Scouts The Texan Triumph

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES

The Hunters of the Hills The Shadow of the North The Rulers of the Lakes

BOOKS NOT IN SERIES

Apache Gold The Quest of the Four The Last of the Chiefs In Circling Camps A Soldier of Manhattan The Sun of Saratoga A Herald of the West The Wilderness Road My Captive

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK

THE EYES OF THE WOODS

A Story of the Ancient Wilderness

by

JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER

Author of "The Young Trailers," "The Shadow of the North," "The Hunters of the Hills," "The Tree of Appomattox," Etc.

Illustrated by D. C. Hutchison

[Illustration: "It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he was proud"]

D. Appleton and Company New York and London: 1917

Copyright, 1917, by D. Appleton and Company

Printed in the United States of America

FOREWORD

"The Eyes of the Woods" is an independent story, telling of certain remarkable events in the life of Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Shif'less Sol Hyde, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart. But it is also a part of the series dealing with these characters, and is the fourth in point of time, coming just after "The Keepers of the Trail."

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE FLIGHT 1

II. THE GREAT JOKE 23

III. A MERRY NIGHT 45

IV. THE CAPTURED CANOE 67

V. THE PROTECTING RIVER 89

VI. THE OASIS 111

VII. INTO THE NORTH 130

VIII. THE BUFFALO RING 149

IX. THE COVERT 168

X. THE BEAR GUIDE 186

XI. THE GREATER POWERS 209

XII. THE STAG'S COMING 225

XIII. THE LEAPING WOLF 245

XIV. THE WATCHFUL SQUIRREL 266

XV. THE LETTER 286

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"It was the shiftless one who had shot the bear, and he was proud" Frontispiece

"'A lot of 'em are dancin' the scalp dance'" 78

"Red Eagle rose to address his hosts" 204

"A gigantic wolf ... launched himself straight at the warrior's throat" 254

THE EYES OF THE WOODS

CHAPTER I

THE FLIGHT

A strong wind swept over the great forest, sending green leaves and twigs in showers before it, and bringing clouds in battalions from the west. The air presently grew cold, and then heavy drops of rain came, pattering at first like shot, but soon settling into a hard and steady fall that made the day dark and chill, tingeing the whole wilderness with gloom and desolation.

The deer sought its covert, a buffalo, grazing in a little prairie, thrust its huge form into a thicket, the squirrel lay snug in its nest in the hollow of a tree, and the bird in the shelter of the foliage ceased to sing. The only sounds were those of the elements, and the world seemed to have returned to the primeval state that had endured for ages. It was the kingdom of fur, fin and feather, and, so far as the casual eye could have seen, man had not yet come.