"Yes; I believe the Indian is doing his best to keep his promise."
"I hope so, but I don't feel as sartin as yersilf of that."
The brief delay of the couple had allowed Arqu-wao to gain so much on them that he was almost invisible. Discovering the fact, he again halted and looked back, as if waiting for them to come up.
"Obsarve him," said Larry. "He stands jist as he did whin we took a drink from the brook."
Such was the fact. If he chose to launch an arrow, he could do so with an instantaneousness that was sure to be fatal to one; but now they were in a better situation than before, and the result was so certain to be fatal to him that neither felt much fear of any attempt.
Wharton beckoned to him to wait, and they hurried forward. Pointing to the hoofprints, clearly showing in the earth, he asked:
"What do they mean, Arqu-wao?"
The Shawanoe merely glanced at the ground. He had noticed the signs before, and it was not necessary for him to scrutinize or study them in order to know what the youth meant.
"Horses—so many," he said, holding up two fingers of his hand.
"How long ago did they pass this way?"