The whole canopy of heaven was
shrouded in black, without a single streak of light upon it--not even a
star. Who could discover the direction in such a night?

As the lightning flashed, I saw Rube bending down over the road; he
appeared to be examining the tracks. I noticed that there were
wheel-tracks--deep ruts--evidently made by the rude block-wheels of a
_carreta_. It was these that the trapper was scanning.

Almost as soon as a man could have read the direction from a
finger-post, Rube raised himself erect, and crying out--

"All right--this-away!" set off along the road.

I was curious to know how he had determined the point, and questioned
him.

"Wal, yur see, young fellur, it ur the trail o' a Mexikin cart; an'
anybody as iver seed thet ur vamint, knows it hez got only two wheels.
But thur are four tracks hyur, an' thurfor the cart must a gone back an'
fo'th, for I seed they wur the same set o' wheels. Now, 'tur raizonable
to s'pose thet the back-track leads to the settlements, an' thet's
thisaway."

"But how could you tell which was the back-track?"

"Wagh! thet ur easy as fallin' off a log. The back track ur the fresher
by more'n a kupple o' hours."

Pondering upon the singular "instinct" that enabled our guide to
distinguish the tracks, I rode on in silence.

Shortly after, I again heard the voice of Rube, who was some paces in
the advance.

"I kud a knowd the way," he said, "'ithout the wheel-tracks: they only
made things more sartint sure."

"How?" I asked. "What other clue had you?"

"The water," replied he; "'ee see, or 'ee mout, ef you'd a looked into
the tracks, thet it ur runnin' this-away. Do ee hear thet thur?"

I listened. I heard distinctly the sound of running water, as of a
small stream carried down a rough rocky channel.

"Yes--I hear it, but how should the water guide you?"

"Wal," continued the trapper, "it ur a branch made by the rain: we're a
follerin it down; an' thurfor must kum to the river jest whur we want to
git. Oncest thur, we'll soon find our way, I reck'n. Wagh! how the
durned rain kums down! It 'ud drown a muss-rat. Wagh!"

The result proved the trapper's reasoning correct. The road-water was
running in the direction we had taken; and shortly after, the brawling
branch shot out from among the bushes, and crossed our path, diverging
from it at an acute angle. We could see, however, as we plunged through
the now swollen streamlet, that the current