“Looks like a ’coon to me,” answered Pitt.
“And what do you say, Redbird?” asked Uncle Teddy, pulling Sahwah’s hair.
“There’s where you boys have us beaten,” said Sahwah frankly. “We never have had a chance to learn animal tracks.”
“I’m sure it’s a ’coon,” said the Captain, his spirits rising with the chance to crow over the girls.
“All right, if you’re sure of it, we’ll follow the trail awhile and see where he is,” said Uncle Teddy. “But you always want to be sure of what you see, after you’ve learned it once. A good woodsman always fixes a thing in his mind so he’ll know it the next time he sees it.”
“I’m sure it’s a ’coon,” repeated the Captain. “May we follow the trail awhile?” Eagerly they trotted along beside the footprints in the snow, impatient to have a sight of the animal. This was a new sport to the Winnebagos and they were greatly excited about it. The Captain had forgotten his low spirits and was in the lead now.
“I say, the fellow that spies him first ought to be pathfinder for the rest of the way,” he said.
“What does a ’coon look like?” panted Sahwah, trying to keep up with him.
“He has a short, thick, striped tail,” said the Captain, “and a—— Oh, goodness gracious! Oh, Methuselah’s great grandmother!” For just then the wind began to blow strongly from the direction in which they were going, carrying with it an unmistakable odor. With one accord they took to their heels.
“O Uncle Teddy,” said the Captain, furious at himself, “you knew what it was all the while! Why didn’t you tell us?”