as much knowledge
concerning the methods used as they could.

Besides this, they must read the messages left occasionally by their
pathfinder.

For quite some time the boys scurried along. More than once they had to
quicken their pace to what Matty called a "dog-trot." This happened
especially when the "signs" were very plain.

"Why all this haste?" asked Landy, who seemed to be puffing a little,
because of his being rather a stout boy, and not very well up in
athletics.

"Because we want to gain on Elmer when we have the chance," replied the
leader.

"But look here, Matty," said Landy, "do you mean to tell me Elmer is
getting along about as fast as we've been doing, when he has a blind
trail to follow, and we have a plain one?"

"Looks like it, don't it?" exclaimed Red.

"But how under the sun does he do it?" pursued the doubting greenhorn.

"Well," Matty went on, "Elmer lived in Canada, away up where our
blizzards come from. He used to ride a wild broncho, throw a rope, hunt
antelope and wolves, and was once in at the death of a big grizzly bear
that had been playing hob with their cattle."

"Yes, I've heard all that," admitted Landy.

"So you see he learned a lot about following a trail that would never be
seen by any fellows like us scouts. He knows a dozen signs that tell him
the facts. And when greenhorns like Ty, Nat, and Toby try to fool him,
why, he just eats the trail up."

Matty, as he finished speaking, came to a sudden pause.

"We might as well take a breathing spell," he remarked, "because we're
getting pretty close to the meeting place anyhow. Besides, here's a
chance for me to show you how Elmer manages."

The others crowded around, eager to see for themselves what object
lesson Matty expected to lay before them.

"Now I want you to notice right here," he said, pointing to the ground,
"that the footprints of the two boys ahead suddenly stop. Here are the
plain marks left purposely by Elmer and Lil Artha. Do you notice how
they run alongside this fallen tree?"

"That's a fact," declared George, as all of them walked slowly along.

"The two foxes in the lead thought to puzzle the hounds by jumping on
this long log, and running its entire length," said Matty, with a grin,
"but they had their trouble for nothing. Why, it was such an old trick
that Elmer guessed it at a glance. He must have gained quite a lot on
'em here."

George and Landy exchanged glances.

"Well, there's a heap mor