“I guess you haven’t hunted Injuns much,” said Dick, with a laugh. “Don’t you know that when they are travelin’, the hindermost ones step exactly in the leader’s tracks? If fifty Injuns had been along here, they would not have left a bigger trail nor those two have. But arter you have hunted and fit ’em as much as I have, you could tell by lookin’ at a trail how many there was in the party. I hope you youngsters are good at runnin’.”
“We should not care about running a race with you,” answered George; “but if you will hold this gait, we will agree to keep up with you.”
“O, you’ll have to go faster nor this, if you want to ketch them Injuns,” said Dick. “See here—here’s where the rascals began to run.”
“How can you tell?” inquired Archie.
“Why, easy enough. You see the tracks are further apart nor they wur a little piece back. Come, youngsters! let out a little.”
The boys thought that Dick “let out” a good deal, for he almost redoubled his pace, and they concluded it was best to discontinue their talking; for they soon found that they had no breath to waste. After they had gone about two miles, the trail led them from the creek off into the woods; and, in a few moments, the trapper came to a stand-still on the bank of a small stream, where the trail abruptly ended.
“Where did they go to?” inquired Frank, after he had looked in vain for the trail. “They couldn’t have jumped across the creek.”
“No;” answered the trapper, “that would be a better jump nor I ever saw made. We must go back.”
“What for?” asked George.
“Why, the thieves knowed that we would foller ’em, an’ they have doubled on their trail, just like a fox.”