s camp, and was there utterly lost in
the confusion of tracks made everywhere by many feet, both large and
small.

Here, then, was sufficient ground for anxiety. If the savage had joined
this band and gone away with it, the pursuers could of course follow him
up, but, in the event of their finding him among friends, there seemed
little or no probability of their being able to rescue the stolen child.
On the other hand, if Petawanaquat had left the Indians and continued
his journey alone, the great difficulty that lay before them was to find
his point of departure from a band which would naturally send out
hunters right and left as they marched along.

"It's a blue look-out any way you take it," remarked poor Victor, with
an expression worthy of Peegwish on his countenance.

"I vish it vas blue. It is black," said Rollin.

Ian replied to both remarks by saying that, whether black or blue, they
must make the best of it, and set about doing that at once. To do his
desponding comrades justice, they were quite ready for vigorous action
in any form, notwithstanding their despair.

Accordingly, they followed the broad trail of the Indians into the
prairie a short way, and, separating in different directions round its
margins, carefully examined and followed up the tracks that diverged
from it for considerable distances, but without discovering the print of
the little moccasin with Elsie's patch, or the larger footprint of
Tony's captor.

"You see, there are so many footprints, some like and some unlike, and
they cross and recross each other to such an extent that it seems to me
a hopeless case altogether," said Victor.

"You don't propose to give it up, do you?" asked Ian.

"Give it up!" repeated Victor, almost fiercely. "Give up Tony? NO! not
as long as I can walk, or even crawl."

"Ve vill crawl before long, perhaps," said Rollin; "ve may even stop
crawling an' die at last, but ve must not yet give in."

In the strength of this resolve they returned to the lakelet when the
sun went down, and encamped there. It is needless to say that they
supped and slept well notwithstanding--or notwithforstanding, as Rollin
put it. Rollin was fond of long words, and possessed a few that were
his own private property. Victor had a dream that night. He dreamt
that he caught sight of an Indian on the plains with Tony on his
shoulder; that he gave chase, and almost overtook them, when, to save
himself, the Indian dropped h