He was in no hurry to reach the spot of the recent conflict, for he knew that even though they had three or four hours the start of him, he could easily come up with them before nightfall, until which hour he knew that nothing could be done.
So he went on at a slow pace, and the sun was nearly three hours high in the heavens, when he arrived at last at the spot where he had last seen his friends in the hands of the red-skins.
He did not expect to find a living soul there, and in this he was not mistaken.
The spot was as silent as the grave.
But he had had his fears that he might find the mangled remains of some of his friends lying there, but to his joy he found that this was not the case.
All of them had been spared for a short time at least.
A trail as plainly perceivable as the sun in the heavens, led away from the spot, and he lost but little time in setting off upon it.
From the appearance of the ground he had made up his mind that they had not tarried long on the spot after they had secured their captives, and therefore they had several hours the start of him.
But this did not disturb him any. He knew they could not hurry the women along very fast, so it would be an easy task for him to overtake them by the time he desired to do so.
So he struck out upon the trail at his usual gait, feeling sure that by the time the sun went down he would have come up with them.