possessed.

In a brief while, a good dinner was boiled over the coals, a short rest
taken, and the three were on the road again, it being their wish to
travel further than on the day before. Had Deerfoot been alone he would
have broken into a trot that would have doubled the distance before the
set of sun.

But the trail over which they were walking grew rougher. It was so rocky
in some places that it must have tried the endurance of the horses
ridden by the hunters. Instead of being direct, it grew very sinuous,
made so by the efforts to avoid many formidable obstacles that rose in
front. All this was of little account to the dusky leader, though of
necessity it prolonged the journey, and he was obliged to slacken his
pace to suit those who were less accustomed to such work.

It was about the middle of the afternoon, when they were checked again
by coming abreast of a stream that was too broad and deep to be forded.
The trail, however, instead of entering the water, turned up the bank,
and the three, under the leadership of Deerfoot, did the same.

This diversion continued for fully two hundred yards, when the path
struck the water, the point on the other side where the horsemen had
emerged being in plain sight. The former method was resorted to, and in
less than an hour after reaching the creek the three had safely ferried
themselves across. It was neither so broad nor so deep as the other, but
it delayed them fully as much.

Within a half mile from the stream last crossed they came upon the trail
of the whole Winnebago party. Just as Deerfoot suspected, they had taken
another route, and had come back to the main path a good many miles away
from where the Wolf left it the night before.

His experienced eye told him that they were close upon the company, who
numbered precisely twelve--several more than he supposed. Whether the
Wolf was with them could not of course be learned until a glimpse of the
party themselves was obtained.

Matters had now taken such a shape that the Shawanoe told his companions
that the utmost care must be used, since they were liable to stumble on
the very ones whom they were anxious to avoid. He instructed them to
allow him to keep fully a hundred feet in advance, and never to diminish
the distance without orders from him.

This was a prudent step, and Fred and Terry did their best to carry out
the wishes of their guide, who walked on at a moderate pace, without
once glancing back at