With these words, the hunter turned and plunged deeper into the forest. Graham and Haverland silently followed, and, in a few moments, the three were proceeding as carefully and silently as before through the dense wood.
As yet our friends had partaken of nothing, and began to experience the pangs of hunger; but, of course, in the present instance these were disregarded. Somewhere near the middle of the afternoon, they came upon another spot where the savages had halted. Here, if Haverland and Graham had any lingering doubts of what the hunter had said, they were soon removed. It was plain that a large Indian party had halted upon this spot but a few hours before, and it was equally evident that they had taken no pains to conceal the traces they had made. If they had any suspicions of pursuit, they had no apprehensions of the consequences, as they were well aware of the disparity between the two forces, and scorned the whites.
This was gratifying on the other hand to the hunter. He knew well enough that as matters stood at present, he could hope for nothing except through his own cunning and stratagem; and, for this reason, it was very probable the Indians were satisfied no attempt would be made. They did not take into consideration the fact that there was an enemy in their camp.
Considerable remains of the meal were discovered, and served to satisfy the wants of our friends for the present. The early time in the afternoon showed them that thus far they had gained quite rapidly upon the savages. It was the earnest wish of the three that they should come up to the Indian party by nightfall; but this expectation was doomed to a sudden disappointment; for in a few hours they reached a point where the trail divided again.
This was unaccountable even to the hunter, and for a few moments our friends stood perfectly nonplussed. They had not looked for this, and had not the slightest reason of it.
“This beats all creation!” remarked Haldidge, as he again examined the trail.
“Depend upon it there is something meant in this,” observed Haverland with an air of deep concern.
“It is some stratagem of the imps which we must understand before going further.”
“They must entertain different ideas of us from what we thought. You may safely believe that this is some plan to mislead us, and if there is ever a time when our wits shall be demanded it has now come.”
During this fragmentary conversation, the hunter was minutely examining the trail. Graham and Haverland watched him a few seconds in silence, when the latter asked: