CHAPTER XXIV.
THE TRACKS OF HORSES.
At the moment when neither of the youths had a thought of such a thing,they found themselves walking along a distinctly marked trail in thewoods, while Arqu-wao, the Shawanoe guide, turned his head with an oddexpression, as if to ask their opinion of the manner in which he hadkept his agreement.
This issue would have been highly pleasing but for the question whichinstantly presented itself to Wharton Edwards and Larry Murphy--werethey upon the right trail?
Fully aware of the treacherous subtlety of the American race, they mightwell doubt the answer. The Indian must have seen that he was regardedwith suspicion, and knew, therefore, that extraordinary care wasnecessary on his part to bring about the ruin of his captors and savehimself.
What more likely to deceive them than the act of taking them to aplainly marked path through the woods?
But such trails were not common at that day in the forest, and since theboys had passed over the one connecting the block-house with thesettlement, it surely seemed that they ought to be able to identify it.They set out to do so, and quickly succeeded.
Wharton was slightly in advance of his companion, and, turning his head,he said in a low tone, over his shoulder:
"Larry, we're on the right track as sure as we're born."
"I know it. Do ye mind that tree over there to the right, beyant, thathas been knocked all to splinters by lightning? Do ye mind that, I say?"
"Yes; I remember it well. We saw it last fall when we passed here."
It would seem that the splintered trunk should have been an infallibleguide to the youths; but, as if fate wished to toy with them, Whartonwas positive that it was on the right side of the trail as they facedthe block-house, while Larry was equally certain it was on the left.Neither could dissuade the other, and the question remained asexasperating as before. One believed that instead of going right theywere walking directly contrary to the proper course, and that sooner orlater they would reach the dangerous section where they had already metwith so many narrow escapes.
Had either been able to convince the other of his mistake they wouldhave decided what was the best thing to do, for such a decision ofnecessity would have determined whether Arqu-wao was playing them falseor not.
It was the younger lad who believed they were going astray, and it wasthis fact which caused him to examine the ground, as they walked along,with closer scrutiny than his companion. In doing so he made an alarmingdiscovery; the path showed the distinct hoofprints of two horses thathad travelled in the opposite direction.
The woodcraft of the young man told him that the animals had passed thatway quite recently, probably within a few hours. While there could beno certainty as to who the couple were, he decided at once that theywere his father and mother on their way from the block-house to thesettlement.
"Larry," said he, touching the shoulder of his friend, "the Shawanoe isacting honestly with us."
"How can ye know that?" asked the other in surprise.
"These are the footprints of father and mother's horses."
Larry bent his head forward and closely studied the ground for sometime, walking slowly, and allowing nothing to escape him.
"Ye are right," straightening up, "which means that two people havepassed this way--pretty lately, too; but how can we know who they were?"
"This trail is little travelled. If the folks left the block-house veryearly this morning they would have been near here by this time. We can'tknow it is they, but it is certain as anything can be."
"Then ye were wrong and I was right about the course we werefollowing."
"Yes; I believe the Indian is doing his best to keep his promise."
"I hope so, but I don't feel as sartin as yersilf of that."
The brief delay of the couple had allowed Arqu-wao to gain so much onthem that he was almost invisible. Discovering the fact, he again haltedand looked back, as if waiting for them to come up.
"Obsarve him," said Larry. "He stands jist as he did whin we took adrink from the brook."
Such was the fact. If he chose to launch an arrow, he could do so withan instantaneousness that was sure to be fatal to one; but now they werein a better situation than before, and the result was so certain to befatal to him that neither felt much fear of any attempt.
Wharton beckoned to him to wait, and they hurried forward. Pointing tothe hoofprints, clearly showing in the earth, he asked:
"What do they mean, Arqu-wao?"
The Shawanoe merely glanced at the ground. He had noticed the signsbefore, and it was not necessary for him to scrutinize or study them inorder to know what the youth meant.
"Horses--so many," he said, holding up two fingers of his hand.
"How long ago did they pass this way?"
While the Indian understood the question, he was puzzled for a moment asto how to make an intelligent answer. He fixed his keen black eyes onthe face of the questioner, then looked around the trees as if searchingfor some aid. These shut out the sun, but it was easy to locate the orbabout one-third of the way between the horizon and the zenith. He hadstruck the key.
"When sun dere," he replied, pointing low down in the sky, "den men ridealong on horses."
Wharton Edwards's heart gave a painful start. Of course the Shawanoecould not know that one of the horses carried a woman instead of a man,nor, with all the woodcraft of the American Indian, could he determinewithin an hour or two the time when the animals had passed along thetrail, but he did know of a verity that the passage had taken placesince the sun went down on the night before.
Understanding, now, the precise distance to the block-house, and thestrong probability that the parties would not leave there in the nighttime, and well aware, also, from the marks of the hoofprints, that thehorses were walking at a leisurely pace, it became an easy matter forhim to tell at what time they were due at this particular spot. He hadindicated the hour, which was another evidence that the boys were at nogreat distance from their destination.
"We don't want to go to the block-house," said Wharton, impetuously. "Wewant to travel the other way. We must overtake those horsemen beforethey reach the falls."