Alden was convinced from a study of the signal smoke that it was gradually fading, as if the fire which caused it was not replenished. What this signified, as well as the meaning of the display itself, was beyond him.
When the interval between him and the danger point had dwindled to an eighth of a mile, Dick did an almost incredible thing. Until then he had shown no sign of seeing the warning. Suddenly he stopped, raised his head, thrust his ears forward and looked steadily at the thin column of vapor for several minutes. The reins lay on his neck and the rider did not touch them.
The animal wheeled abruptly to the right and broke into a gallop. His action showed that he read the signal smoke aright. Indians were there and he must avoid them.
“I shall not interfere again with you,” said Alden admiringly; “you know a hundred times more than I do of these matters.”
None the less, our young friend was uneasy. With all the pony’s sagacity, it would not have been strange if he was outwitted. The dusky enemies must have believed it was an experienced Express Rider who was coming from the east, and it would seem likely to them that he would direct his pony as the animal was now directing himself. If so, the precaution could hardly be of avail.
The ground rapidly changed in character. Before Alden looked for it the incline increased, and he was riding among boulders, rocks and dwarfed pines. He felt a coolness too in the air, though the ridge did not rise anywhere near to the snow line. Looking down at the ground he saw no signs of others having passed the way before him. He was the pioneer in that dismal solitude.
He was glad when the pony of his own accord dropped from the gallop to his rapid, graceful walk. It was impossible for him to progress in a straight line, and he was forever turning to the right or left, rarely following a direct course for more than a few rods.
Alden could not help smiling when it looked for a moment as if Dick had suddenly reached the end of his rope. He came opposite a mass of rocks, amid which the twisted pines pushed out in all directions, though ever striving to reach the vertical with their tops pointed toward the zenith. To the right and left, the flinty boundary extended beyond sight.
Without hesitation Dick turned to the left and walked briskly for a dozen rods. The barrier still interposed. He stopped, wheeled about and retraced his steps. He was searching for an opening or small pass, and was not satisfied to approach any closer to the Indian signal.
Within less than the distance named, to the right of his first turn, he found that for which he was looking. A gap showed and he entered it as if it were a stable door that had been opened for him.