As they journeyed along they talked over the situation, and wondered if the Indians had taken possession of the dead bear and her cubs.
“I don’t think they took the whole bear,” said Henry. “Maybe they took the hide and the choicest of the meat.”
“I didn’t dare to watch them too closely, for fear of being caught,” said Dave.
They took an almost direct course for the fort, and by the middle of the afternoon calculated that they were but two or three miles away. Nothing had come to alarm them outside of the appearance of a rattlesnake that glided from under a rock over which they were stepping. They lost no time in giving the reptile a wide berth, and on his part the rattlesnake did not attempt to molest them.
“I think we’ll reach Fort Pitt by sundown,” said Henry. “We might do it in less time, but there is no use in hurrying.”
“Does the ankle still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt very much, but it feels weak. I think I’ll rest all day to-morrow.”
“We’ll have earned a rest, I’m thinking,” returned Dave, with a grim smile. “Won’t they open their eyes at the fort when they hear the story we have to tell!”
Another mile was covered, and they had to pass around a hollow filled with thick brushwood. Henry was in advance, when he came to a sudden halt.
“Here is our chance, Dave!” he whispered. “We won’t have to go back empty-handed.”