Elmer knew that they took certain chances in figuring this way. After all this man may have been the farmer who had a stock farm. Some of his cattle breaking bounds would likely enough wander into the swamp, and in looking for the strays perhaps he had discovered the smouldering fire.
As tramps, and possibly bad men as well, sometimes hid in the depths of swamps, the cautious cattle-raiser may have been crawling up to find out the truth when that sudden shot frightened him, so that he had run wildly away.
Well, no matter which of these two solutions to the mystery proved to be the correct one, Elmer meant to try and come upon the party whose trail now lay before him. He still favored the original idea, and, in fact, never bothered mentioning the other speculation to his comrades.
All of them being ready they set out. Elmer and Lil Artha led the van, for they were recognized as the best equipped scouts in the Wolf Patrol when it came to a question of trailing. What Lil Artha lacked in actual experience, he partly made up for in his pertinacity, as well as his constant practice along these lines.
It soon became evident to them that the fugitive had not thought it worth while to try and hide his trail at the time he fled from the camp. That sudden shot must have given him a nervous shock, so that all he cared about just then was to put as much distance between himself and those seven khaki-clad boys as possible. The fact that they carried weapons and would not hesitate to use their firearms must have convinced him it was a risky thing to hang around that region any longer.
For half an hour the boys moved on. Sometimes it was at a fair walk, and then again when the trail grew fainter so that those at the head of the column were compelled to exercise all of their knowledge in order to make sure progress, things slackened more or less.
The boys had been warned not to make any unnecessary noise. Talking save in the lowest of whispers was strictly tabooed, and even at that Elmer did not encourage any conversation. They also had to take care of their feet, and not press their weight upon some stick that would break with a loud snap. Even such small things have spoiled well-laid plans before now, and trackers, whether of wild beasts of human fugitives, cannot be too careful.
If Landy puffed a little the other made no objection, since he took care to do it half under his breath. It was not such very easy work, though as scouts most of them enjoyed every minute of the time, being constantly thrilled with the expectation of suddenly coming upon a camp where those they sought might be found, and taken by surprise.
Lil Artha even had it all arranged in his mind just how he meant to threaten that man with his gun, warning him savagely that it would be as much as his skin was worth to attempt to flee.
It was in this humor that they came to a log that lay across their path. Here the trail ended, but, of course, such clever fellows as Elmer and Lil Artha would understand a little trick like that. The stumbling man had naturally taken to the log, passed well along to the other end, and then jumped off.