Step Hen turned a little red in the face, and laughed; but did not venture to take up Giraffe’s dare, so that for once an argument that might have waxed fierce was avoided.
Presently they were moving on again. Acting on the suggestion of Thad the four scouts had formed a sort of fan formation, being within easy seeing and hearing distance of each other, but covering quite a wide stretch of ground.
Allan and Thad had given it as their opinion, although they admitted they could not be absolutely sure, that although they must certainly have covered fully thirty miles in their wanderings, they were not more than ten from the camp by the rapids.
It fell to Giraffe to make a discovery this time. Along about two o’clock he raised his voice and gave an excited call. This being the signal to assemble, the other scouts hurried toward Giraffe, anxious to learn what he had to communicate.
CHAPTER XVII.
MORE TROUBLE AHEAD.
“What have you?” asked Step Hen, who, strange to say, in spite of his lame leg, arrived just a little in advance of the other two.
Giraffe was standing there, twisting that long neck of his this way and that. He declined to say anything until Thad had arrived on the scene. Then, with an expressive pose, he pointed to the ground near his feet.
“What d’ye call that, eh? Tell me I ain’t got the eye of an eagle? Somebody else might have gone stumping along, and never seen it. But you can ketch a weasel asleep as easy as you can fool me.”
“It’s a trail, all right,” said Thad.
“Say his trail,” persisted Giraffe.