o
briskly that they could have well stood a still lower temperature.

Fortunately for them (though it also operated in favor of their enemies)
the trail was traveled without difficulty. The ground was uneven,
sometimes up and sometimes down, but it was not hard for the feet and
they made good progress. The distance they had to go was too great for
them to hope to reach the end of the journey before the morrow, even if
they traveled most of the night. They had already proven their pluck and
resolution, and you may be sure, now that they were on the right path,
that they did not throw away any minutes.

They had eaten the extra buffalo steak sooner than was intended, but
they could afford to wait until the morrow before partaking of any more
food.

The afternoon was far along and they were pushing forward in their usual
vigor, talking in a hopeful strain now and then, when both were startled
by the report of a rifle. It did not sound in front nor to the rear, but
only a moderate distance to the left. The boys stopped and looked in
each other's face.

"Anither of the spalpeens," whispered Terry; "now there ought to be a
gun fired on tother side of us and one in front and one behind us."

"They may be there, all the same," replied Fred, staring in the
direction whence came the report, as though he expected the appearance
of the one who had caused it. They looked and listened for several
minutes, but saw and heard nothing more, and resumed their hurried pace,
frequently glancing behind, for they were in that distrustful state of
mind which comes to one who has a strong suspicion that an enemy is
trying to steal behind him unawares. The actual presence of such an
enemy is no more trying than the suspense itself.

The shot might have been innocent--that is, fired by some wandering
white man or Indian who had not the remotest thought that any other
person was within hearing. Probably such was the fact, though there was
enough uncertainty about it to prevent the theory affording the youth
the comfort it otherwise would have done.

The lads, as you may well believe, did not stop to look into the matter,
but pressed on at a gait which they were confident would prevent any of
their enemies overtaking them, unless they broke into their loping trot,
which was hardly likely.

Somehow or other, Terry seemed to be thinking more about the three
Winnebago horsemen with whom Fred Linden had had his encounter than he
did about his