Fiddler's Ridge-dark, brooding, its ancient forest rarely disturbed by trespassers-was a dangerous place for fools. Young mill worker, Billy Paul Haferty was about to learn why. He was only looking for a bit of entertainment, he told himself as he climbed the ridge one evening. There was no harm in it, the well-beaten path he followed indicated that plenty of people had been here before him. When he reached his destination, a lonely cabin deep in the forest, he felt ridiculous explaining the purpose of his visit to the cold-eyed woman who lived there. She asked if he knew the cost of what he...