"How far from here do you calculate the base of that smoke is, Dave?"
"A long distance, Robert. Several miles maybe. The fire, I've no doubt, was kindled on top of a hill. It may be French speaking to Indians, or Indians talking to Indians."
"And you don't think it's people of ours?"
"I'm sure it isn't. We've no hunters or runners in these parts, except ourselves."
"And it's not Tandakora," said the Onondaga. "He must be much farther away."
"But the signal may be intended for him," said the hunter. "It may be carried to him by relays of smoke. I wish I could read that trail across the sky."
"It's thinning out fast," said Robert. "You can hardly see it! and now it's gone entirely!"
But the hunter continued to look thoughtfully at the sky, where the smoke had been. He never underrated the activity of the French, and he believed that a movement of importance, something the nature of which they should discover was at hand.
"Lads," he said, "I expected an easy night of good sleep for all three of us, but I'm thinking instead that we'd better take to the trail, and travel toward the place where that smoke was started."
"It's what scouts would do," said Tayoga tersely.