"You take that side and I'll cover this one," said Elmer, without the least hesitation; "ten to one we'll get him again."
They did, for Lil Artha quickly found the tracks once more. The incident, however, told them that the man had begun to fear he would be followed when morning came, since this was his first effort to baffle pursuit.
"I'm sorry that happened," said Elmer, softly, to his working partner; "because it's going to make our task all the harder you see."
"Do you mean because he's begun to be afraid he'll be followed?" asked the other.
"That's just it," continued the patrol leader; "if that idea gets a firm hold of him he's bound to do everything he knows how so as to leave us in the lurch. In the end he might even decide to quit the swamp, and take his chances of getting away outside."
"Well, we don't quit at that, do we?" asked Lil Artha, with a gritting of his teeth that told of grim determination.
Elmer looked at him and smiled.
"We'd be a nice lot of scouts, wouldn't we," he said, sarcastically, "if we were ready to throw up the sponge at the first sign of trouble? No, we've started on this trail, and we'll run it down if it keeps us busy the rest of our vacation."
"In the immortal words of General Grant while flanking Lee and driving him back toward Richmond," continued the other, "'we'll fight it out on this line if it takes all summer!' I'm glad to hear you say that, Elmer. But here we are up against it again, seems like."
This time the fleeing man had reached a certain point, for his tracks could be plainly seen, but the trail abruptly ended.