This question was answered by Oriole raising one of his feet—with the sole turned upwards, at the same time glancing to the ground with an angry ejaculation.
“Ha!” said Holtspur, who read those signs as easily as if they had been a written language—“An enemy upon the trail?”
Oriole held up three of his fingers—pointing perpendicularly towards the ceiling of the room.
“Three instead of one! and three men! Well, perhaps they will be easier to deal with than if it was a trio of women.”
The cavalier, as he made this half-jesting remark, seemed to give way for a moment to some reflection, altogether unconnected with the intelligence conveyed by his attendant.
“What is it, Oriole? What have you seen?” asked he, returning to the subject of the Indian’s communication.
Oriole’s answer to this was a sign for his master to follow him. At the same time, turning on his heel, he led the way out of the apartment, out of the front door, and round by the left wing of the house. Thither he was followed by Holtspur and Gregory Garth, when all three commenced re-examining the tracks.
These were again traced in a backward direction to the side doorway.
It could not be doubted that two of the men who made them had issued thence. The third—he who wore the hobnailed shoes—had met these on their coming out; and afterwards walked along with them to the front—where the footmarks were lost among the hoof-prints of the horses.
There were no tracks leading towards the side entrance; but, as there was no other way by which the room could have been entered—except by the glass door, and that had certainly not been unclosed—it was evident that the two men who had come out by the side passage must have gone in by it.