“Yes, and look closer at the figure, Roger. It is not intended to be an Indian, you can see, for he has a hat on his head. It strikes me we ought to know that hat, cleverly imitated here; what do you say about it?”
“Oh! it must be the odd-looking hat that French trader, François Lascelles, always wore, Dick. He means that it was toward the rising sun François started last fall, just as we know happened. And now here he is, again, the same hat and all, creeping straight toward the setting sun. Does that mean the trader came back again, in spite of the warning Captain Lewis gave him?”
“I am sure it means that, and nothing else,” replied the other, calmly. “Stop and think, Roger. Only a little while ago, we were wondering whether such a thing had come about, because we found reason to believe some member of the expedition had been hired to do us an injury. Yes, that bitter Frenchman has dared to return, believing that he can keep out of the reach of our protectors, and manage in some way to get his revenge.”
“If that is what Beaver Tail is trying to tell us in this picture writing, Dick, the rest of the screed must simply go on to explain it a little further.”
“You notice that the same figure with the hat occurs always,” continued Dick, as he examined the message again. “Here is what must stand for a fire, and two persons are sitting beside it, as if cooking. In what seems to be a clump of bushes close by he has drawn that man again, this time lying flat.”
“That must mean that François is spying on the pair by the fire,” suggested Roger, “and as he has made both of them wear caps with ’coon or squirrel tails dangling down behind, I think they are meant to represent us.”
“There can be no question about it,” admitted the other, deeply interested. “And, going further, we see the snake in the grass creeping up as if he meant to surprise the two, who are now sleeping, for they lie flat on the ground.”
“Yes, even the fire burns low, for there is hardly any blaze,” added Roger, “which indicates that the hour is late. Why, Dick, we can read the story as easily as any sign in the woods we ever tackled.”
“Then comes another scene,” continued Dick, “where the creeper has evidently sprung with uplifted knife, upon his intended prey, taken unawares. After that, we can see him crawling away, and there are two figures lying stretched out on the ground close to the now dead fire. That needs no explanation, Roger; François Lascelles seeks our lives, because we baffled him in his scheme to win a fortune at the expense of our folks at home!”