“I really can’t say. I haven’t seen an Indian here since that fellow called Yellow Blanket called on Colonel Boone. And who of the settlers around here would be mean enough to take our game is more than I can surmise. But I know one thing.”
“And that is——”
“I’m going after the chap in double-quick order.”
“I am with you. We are two to one and well armed. I suppose he didn’t think we would come back so soon.”
“More than likely.”
Just above the spot where the deer had been shot, the brook widened out and became more or less of a shallow stream, with here and there a dirt instead of a stone bottom. Bending low they could, by the aid of the strong sunlight, occasionally catch sight of a footprint where the thief had missed his footing from one stone to the next.
“He would have kept to the stones entirely, and thus cut off his trail,” said Joe; “but his load was almost too much for him. And by that same token, I imagine he won’t go very far before he sits down to rest.”
“If that is so, we may be close to him already. Perhaps we had best keep quiet, and keep our eyes wide open.”
After that but little was said, and each youth kept his ears on the alert. The brook now ran upward, and consisted of a series of tiny waterfalls. Just ahead were a series of rocks.
As they approached the rocks, Joe, who was in advance, held up his hand as a warning. Then he crawled forward as noiselessly as a ghost, and looked over the top of the rocks.