"A very simple thing; it is probable that Red Cedar has, for reasons unknown to us, left his men encamped some miles from here, and has ridden this way alone."
"I have it," Bloodson said; "not far from the spot where we now are, there is a nest of pirates, and Red Cedar has probably gone to ask their assistance in case of need."
"That's it," Valentine added; "the track is quite fresh, so our man cannot be far from us."
"We must pursue him," Don Pablo quickly said, who had, till this moment, maintained a gloomy silence.
"What do you say, gentlemen?" Valentine asked, turning to the rest.
"Pursue him," they answered unanimously.
Then, without further deliberation, they began following the trail, under the guidance of Valentine and Curumilla.
What the hunter stated had really happened. Red Cedar, when he entered the desert, after installing his band in a strong position, remounted his horse and set out, warning all his comrades that he should return within four days at the most, and leaving them temporarily under the orders of the monk.
Red Cedar did not fancy himself so closely pursued by Valentine, and hence had taken but slight precautions to conceal his track.
As he proceeded alone, in spite of the trail found by Curumilla, he would doubtless have escaped pursuit, had not a dog followed him from camp without his knowledge. The track left by that animal served as a guide to the pursuers at the moment when they had completely lost his trail. Valentine and Curumilla had dismounted, and were advancing slowly and examining the sand and soil over which they passed.