The scouts examined all the tracks with the greatest care, but they could not solve the riddle.
“Certainly there is more in this than meets the eye,” said the border king. “It is difficult to know what to do.”
“You mean that it is hard to decide which of the two parties to follow?” asked Mainwaring.
“Yes. It is just possible, you see, that the stronger party forced the weaker to give up the girls to them, under threat of attack in case they refused to do so. The chances are against that having happened, but still it is a possibility.”
“Could you not divide our party and follow both trails?”
“No. I am afraid that is out of the question. We have few enough men, in all conscience, to attack the Shawnees, and we could do nothing against the stronger party. If we divided our force we would be helpless against either when we caught up with them. We must take our choice which we will pursue.”
“I can’t speak as an authority,” said Mainwaring, “but, if I may offer an opinion, I would favor going after Evil Heart’s band. We know he has the girls—or, at least, that he had them; and the chances are that he would not give them up without a fight.”
“That is just my way of looking at the matter,” agreed Buffalo Bill. “But let us hear what the others have to say. It is such a dubious question that it ought to be decided by the general voice.”
The king of the scouts called Wild Bill, Nick Wharton, and several of the most experienced scouts and Pawnees around him.
With one exception, they were all in favor of keeping on after the original band they had been pursuing. The exception was an old Pawnee warrior named Dead Eye.