our
headlong pace.

"On'y what time I kin count twinty, sar."

Rejoiced to find that no longer time had been lost, I galloped along
contentedly, and in silence, though with a rather confused feeling in my
brain, and a sensation of being possessed of six noses rolled into one.

Although no one, as I have said, seemed to lead the party when we
started, I soon found that Big Otter was really our chief. He rode
ahead of us, and more than once pulled up to dismount and examine the
trail. On these occasions the rest of the party halted without orders,
and awaited his decision. Once we were completely thrown off the scent.
The fugitives had taken to a wooded tract of country, and it required
our utmost caution not to lose the trail.

Presently we came to a small stream and crossed it, but the trail ended
abruptly here. We were not surprised, being well aware of the common
Indian device of wading in a stream, which holds no footprints, so as to
throw pursuers out. Dividing our force, one party went up stream, the
other down, but although eager, sharp, and practised eyes examined the
banks, they could not discover the spot where the fugitives had again
taken to dry land. Returning to the place where we had divided, Big
Otter again examined the trail with minute care, going down on his knees
to turn over the blades of grass and examine the footprints.

"Strange," said I, impatiently, "that so simple a device should baffle
us."

As I spoke, the chief arose, and, dark though it was, I could see a
gleam of intelligence on his swarthy visage.

"Attick thinks he is wise," he said, in a low voice, "but he has no more
brains than a rabbit. He was from childhood an idiot."

Having paid his tribesman this compliment, he remounted, and, to my
surprise, went straight back the way we had come.

"What means this!" I asked, unable to restrain my impatience.

"Attick has doubled back, that is all. If there had been more light we
should easily have seen that. We shall soon find the place where the
trail breaks off again."

The Indian was right. On clearing the wooded land we found that the
moon was up, and we followed the trail easily. Coming to a hillock in
the open ground, the top of which was covered with thick and stunted
bushes, we rode into them and there experienced much difficulty in
picking our way.

Suddenly Big Otter turned at a right angle from the line we had been
hitherto pursuing, and, putting his horse