“No ’fraid wolves. Mebby ’fraid Ingalik.”
Tad drew from this that the Indian had something in mind that he had not spoken to them about. The freckle-faced boy eyed the Indian keenly, but Anvik’s impassive face told him nothing. The guide had discovered something else. Tad was sure of that, but what that something was the boy had not the slightest idea.
Tad’s gaze roved about over the landscape, traveling slowly from mountain to mountain, from peak to peak. Twice he went over the rugged landscape spread out before them with his searching glances. Suddenly his gaze halted and fixed on the peak of a low mountain off to the northwest of them. Butler shaded his eyes, and Anvik, observing the action, followed the direction of the boy’s gaze.
The guide made no move, nor did he change expression, but Tad saw that Anvik saw. A tiny ring of smoke was rising slowly from the low mountain peak, swaying lazily as it rose in the quiet air. It was almost white. One 169might have taken it for a cloud did he not know better, and only a mountaineer would have known better.
A moment and a second ring ascended in the wake of the first one, then after another interval a third ring rose.
“What are you looking at?” demanded the Professor sharply.
“Smoke,” answered Tad.
“Where?”
“On that low peak. Where are the glasses?”
Ned hurriedly fetched the glasses. He took the first look, but saw no smoke. Tad reached for them. By this time another ring was rising. It, like the first one he had seen, was followed by two others.