This gave him a large though sparsely-populated area
for locality, while it suggested a settlement of Louisianians or
Mississippians near the Summit, of whom, through their native gambling
proclivities, he was professionally cognizant. But he mainly trusted
Fortune. Secure in his faith in the feminine character of that goddess,
he relied a great deal on her well-known weakness for scamps of his
quality.
It was not long before he came to the "slide"--a lightly-cut or shallow
ditch. It descended slightly in a course that was far from straight, at
times diverging to avoid the obstacles of trees or boulders, at times
shaving them so closely as to leave smooth abrasions along their sides
made by the grinding passage of long logs down the incline. The track
itself was slippery from this, and preoccupied all Hamlin's skill as a
horseman, even to the point of stopping his usual careless whistle.
At the end of half an hour the track became level again, and he was
confronted with a singular phenomenon.
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