Tim's eyes fell upon the map, lying outspread on the ground.
"An' whut did ye think wus best, Cap?" he inquired gravely. "'Tain't likely we got all summer ter sit 'round yere an' talk in. I reckon we done rested 'bout long 'nough. 'Tain't such a bad place, but my notion is, we ought ter be joggin' 'long."
"Mine also. Come over here, both of you, and I'll give you my idea. I figured our chances in this way."
In a few words I explained my choice of route, pointing it out on the map and telling them briefly why I was afraid to seek refuge either at Fort Madison or Fort Armstrong, or, indeed, at any of the nearer settlements. Eloise said nothing, her gaze rising from the map to our faces as we debated the question, for Tim spoke his mind freely, his stubby forefinger tracing the course I had indicated.
"Thar's a trail south o' yere thet leads ter a town called Ottaway, an' thar's another trail north o' yere—Injun, I reckon—whut runs straight east. Whar we are is plum in atween the two ov 'em, but it looks like it might be gud travelin'. Enyhow, thar ain't no rivers er nuthin' so fer as I see. What's this Ottaway, enyhow?"
"There is a small settlement there and a blockhouse. Possibly there are other settlements between here and there, not on the map."
"How fer do yer make it—frum this place ter thar?"
"Well, here is probably the stream we waded up last night—see. I should say we must be about where I make this mark. To Ottawa? I will make a guess that it is a bit over a hundred miles, and from there to Chicago sixty or seventy more. Those last would be over a good trail."
"An' whar do yer reckon are them Injuns—the hostile ones; this yere bunch o' Black Hawk's?"
"Somewhere up Rock River, or along the Green Valley. I'll point it out to you—see; there is where Black Hawk had his village and his hunters ranged all over this country, down as far as the Illinois. Of course, I cannot tell where they are now, for that depends on how far the soldiers have driven them, but it would be my guess they will be somewhere in here—between Prophetstown and the Winnebago Swamp."