Frank and Towzer came up and by this time old Wharton was sitting up too, his hand upon his rifle.
'Slipped them durned Redskins, hev you, old fellow?' laughed Dick softly. 'Well, I've known you get rid of better men than they'll ever be, before now; but bust me if I can guess how you found us out. You haven't brought Frank's rifle along, I suppose,' he added, for the shot fired the night before had been from Frank's rifle, which the Indian had somehow managed to steal from the bough from which it was hanging. Unfortunately, even 'the Cradle's' 'cuteness had not gone as far as this.
'I say, Snap,' said Wharton, coming out of a very brown study, in which he had remained for nearly five minutes, 'it's a very bright moon to-night, isn't it?'
'Never saw a brighter,' said the boy.
'That isn't the way "the Cradle" kem along, is it now?' asked Wharton, pointing down the glade.
'Yes, that's where I first saw him,' said Towzer, pointing.
'Ah!' continued Wharton. 'Now, did it ever strike you that that haze down theer wasn't altogether nat'ral, not on a night like this, anyway?' and he pointed to a thin vapour which hung about the trees some three miles away.
The boys looked in the direction indicated, and saw the vapour plainly enough.
'Well?' said Snap, and waited.
'Wal!' returned Dick, 'that's them durned Redskins. They don't think we'll dare to follow them; the pony has slipped 'em, that shows they are pretty careless, and' (with a vigorous slap on his thigh) 'if you're game I'm going the way that theer Cradle came, and am goin' to have Frank's rifle and an Injun's hair in camp right here before daylight.'