m. I shouldn't wonder now if he's been fooling Lew, as well
as us. My gracious! hasn't the boy used his pegs along here?" exclaimed
O'Hara, again looking at the ground.

"No catch him," said the Huron. "No Injun run like him. Tracks turn
round pretty soon."

"What makes you think so?"

"Gal bring him back--not leave _her_!"

"You're right. He won't forget she is behind him. But how is he going
to throw the dogs off the scent?"

"How t'row white men off scent, eh?"

"I understand--by taking to the water."

"Take to water agin."

As the Huron spoke, they came upon the edge of a second brook--one, in
fact, large enough to be called a creek. The trail led directly into
this, it being manifest that Dernor had so shaped his flight as to
reach it.

"I will cross over and examine the opposite side, while you do the same
along this shore."

"No, won't," replied Oonamoo, with a decided shake of his head. "White
man no cross--gal behind him--come out on this side agin."

The savage was so certain of this, that he refused even to allow O'Hara
to enter the stream. A moment's reflection convinced him, also, that
the supposition was correct, and they commenced their ascent of the
bank. They had gone scarcely a dozen steps, when they came upon
numerous moccasin-tracks, showing that, if the pursuers had crossed the
creek, they had also returned. At this discovery, Oonamoo indulged in a
characteristic exclamation:

"He hide trail--all safe--no cotch him."

"How are _we_ going to find it?" asked O'Hara.

Marvelous as was the skill of the Huron, he doubted his own ability to
regain the trail in the ordinary manner, and he accordingly had resort
to the same means that he used in ascending the ravine. Without
attempting to search for the trail itself, he carefully examined the
shore in order to find the point at which the fugitive could safely
leave the stream. Oonamoo, from his knowledge of the leader of the
Riflemen, knew that he would walk for miles in the creek, before he
would leave it without the certainty of deceiving his pursuers. The
course which Dernor had taken being such that he had entered the water
at a point considerably _above_ where Edith had concealed herself, the
savages, in case they were aware that the latter was somewhere on the
back-trail, would naturally suppose that, if he came out of it on the
same side in which he had entered, it would be _below_ this point;
which, all being comprehended by the H