nd follow his
original course."

"Why do you think that?" asked Grosvenor.

"Because, O Red Coat, it is likely that Black Rifle knew from the
first which way he wanted to go and went that way. He has merely
turned back, like a wise general, to scout a little, and see that no
danger comes from the rear. Yes, he stood here on the hillock from
which we can get a good view over the country, and walked to every
side of the crest to find where the best view could be obtained. That,
Red Coat, is the simplest of all things. Behold the traces of his
moccasins as he walked from side to side. Nothing else could have made
Black Rifle move about so much in the space of a few square yards. Now
he leaves the hillock and goes down its side toward a low valley in
which runs a brook. Black Rifle is thirsty and will drink deep."

"That you can't possibly know, Tayoga."

"But I do know it, Red Coat."

"You don't even know a brook is near."

"I know it, because I have seen it. My eyes are trained to the forest,
and I caught the gleam of running water through the leaves to the
west. Running water, of course, means a brook. Black Rifle's trail now
leads toward it, and I assume that he was thirsty because he had just
eaten well. We are nearly always thirsty after eating. But we shall
see whether I am right. Here is the brook, and there are the faint
traces made by Black Rifle's knees, when he knelt to reach the water.
He started away, but found that he was still thirsty, so he came back
and drank again. Here are his footprints about a yard from the others.
This time, he will go back toward the south, and I think it is sure
that he is looking for St. Luc, who must have gone in that direction
with a strong force, Tandakora having stayed behind to take us. It is
likely that Black Rifle went on, because a great British and American
army is gathering below, which fact he knows well, and it is probable
that Black Rifle follows St. Luc, because he will hunt the biggest
game."

Grosvenor's eyes sparkled.

"I understand," he said. "It is a great art, that of trailing through
the wilderness, and I can see how circumstances compel you to learn
it."

"We have to learn it to live," said the hunter gravely, "but with
Tayoga it is an art carried to the highest degree of perfection. He
was born with a gift for it, a very great gift. He inherited all the
learning accumulated by a thousand years of ancestors, and then he
added to it by his own supr