The boy pointed to the valley below.
All hands instantly turned their gaze in the direction indicated.
They beheld Doc Clancy and his companion coolly riding through the valley, with their horses on a slow walk, as though nothing had happened.
"Well, that beats me!" said Lank Edwards. "What'll we do now?"
"Why, go down there, of course," returned our hero, promptly. "Here is a footpath, and—by Jove! here are the hoof prints of the two villains' horses. Come on."
As Van seemed to be the recognized leader of the party, his friends promptly followed him.
The path they started to descend was a rather steep one, but by good management they succeeded in getting to the level country below in safety.
By the time they arrived at the foot of the falls, the two men they were following had disappeared around a projection of land.
But the trail was as plain as the nose on a person's face, and, urging their horses into a brisk canter, our friends started in pursuit.
The noise of the falling water was so great that the thud of the horse's hoofs could not be heard; and they expected to overtake Clancy in very short order.