Gradually the facts dawned upon him, and he listened.

Everything was oppressively still.

He heard not the voice of his master, and not even the sound of any of the denizens of the wood.
His first movement was to feel for his rifle, which he had brought with him in his descent, and which he found close at hand.

In the act of rising, he caught the sound of a footstep, and saw, at the same instant, the outlines of a person that he knew at once could be no other than the man whom he had been pursuing.

The hunter was about a dozen feet distant, and seemed perfectly aware of the Irishman's presence, for he stood with folded arms, facing his pursuer.