."

The savages were now very wary, and did not attempt to come within
gunshot distance of the place of concealment for some time, but when
they had approached sufficiently near both fired, only one being
wounded.

Without waiting to determine the results of the last volley, the boys
made a rush for the next available place of concealment, and as the
wagon was now in sight they selected another object far beyond the
present position of the wagon, and Tom was off to inform the boys at the
wagon.

Thus, by a succession of marches, the wagon was placed fully a mile
beyond the pursuers, and when the last stretch was made Harry made the
following suggestion:

"As we have now kept up our course for fully three miles in this
direction, tell the boys to turn abruptly to the east, and, if possible,
take the wagon over a trail which they cannot follow. Select some object
beyond so we will know where the line of retreat is, and I will keep
them at bay. In this way we may be able to throw them off the track."

The team had made the last stop at the crossing of one of the little
streams, and he had the ingenuity, after Tom imparted the last
information to him, to drive the team to the west, for a distance, and
then turn it abruptly to the east, and by making his way over the most
rugged surfaces he could find, so effaced the tracks that it was hoped
they could not find the traces.

When Tom returned, Harry had another ruse: "They are not following the
wagon trail now, as they are after us. Now let us direct our course to
the west, so that we will not go on the trail which the wagon had made,
and occasionally show ourselves, so they will follow, and when we have
taken them sufficiently far from the course of the wagon we must depend
on our own tricks to evade them."

This plan was put into immediate execution, and by the time the two had
gone a quarter of a mile beyond the turn which the wagon had made, they
turned eastwardly, in the direction of the wagon, keeping well out of
sight, and it was a relief to see them finally pass along the trail far
beyond the turning point which they had made, and this was evidence that
they had been outwitted.

Harry and Tom now sprinted for the direction of the wagon, and a course
was laid for the northeast, as they did not want to go too far from the
mouth of the river where the boat lay.

They calculated the distance to travel at about eight miles before
reaching the river. The only fe