"Halt, there, young feller!" was the reply, given in sharp, stern tones. "One step further and you'll find half an ounce of lead under your skin, mebbe." Ralph obeyed, somewhat puzzled and decidedly alarmed. The men--there were two of them--drew something over their faces, then ordered the boy to advance. He did so, and on drawing near saw that they now wore masks, and had long sacks swung over their shoulders, with a load of some kind in either end. When he saw the masks and the bags Ralph understood at once what their business was. "Who are you?" demanded one of the men, and the lad could see that he held a pistol in one hand. "No lyin', now!" "My name is Granger, and I'm from over on Hiawassee River way. Want to get down into the low country. Got lost; stayed in a shack while it rained, and--here I am." "Be you a son of old Bras Granger?" "No; grandson." The two whispered together a moment, then one of them said: "I reckon you're all right, boy. 'Taint wuth while to ast our names, 'cause d'ye see--we wouldn't tell." "You'd be fools if you did," returned Ralph, his self confidence now fully restored. "I ain't a wanting to know who you are. I know already what you are." "How's that?" came sharply back, and an ominous click was heard, which, however, did not seem to alarm Ralph. "Moonshiners," said the boy briefly. "Haven't I been raised among 'em? I've got kin folks as stills regular, I'm sorry to say." "Sorry! Ain't it a good trade?" "Not when it lands you inside of some dirty jail. Besides, I don't like the stuff, anyhow." "No use to offer you a dram then?" "Not a bit. But I say, if you'll let me go on with you till we get down where there's some houses, I'll think more of that than if you gave me a barrel of whisky." "We're on our way back. We're goin' up the mountain. But you foller this trail for about a mile, then take the first right hand turn. Follow that 'twel you come to an old field. T'other side of that you'll find the mud pike as runs to Hendersonville. After that you'll find houses thick enough. But where are you bound for after you get down there?" "Oh, anywhere most. I'm after work." Ralph concluded that he had better not be more explicit with strangers. The moonshiners soon grew quite friendly and seemed a little hurt over Ralph's persistence in declining a drink. "I'm going out among strangers," he said, "and I've got to keep my head. The best way to do that is to let the stuff entirely alone. Well, so long, men. I'm mighty glad I met up with you." He struck out down the trail whistling merrily. Now that he was on the right road again, and with a clear night before him, he felt far more cheerful than before. He found the old field without difficulty, and not far beyond he struck the Hendersonville pike as the moonshiner had intimated.