we must not
be too sure, for it may be that of a band of Indians."

He asked Uncle Stephen what he thought.

"The Indians generally take care to have their fires in places where
they cannot be seen from a distance, so that is much more likely to be
what you at first supposed," he answered. "At all events, we will try
and find out."

"If the oxen cannot be got to move, I will go on and ascertain," I said.
"I can direct my course by the fire, and will approach cautiously.
Should I discover that Indians are encamped there, I will hurry back and
let you know. We must then try and make our way in some other
direction."

"I am afraid, Roger, that in such a case our hope of escape will be very
small," said my uncle in a grave tone. "Unless we can find water in
some hollow in which it will be possible to conceal ourselves, at the
return of day, the Indians are sure to see us. Should they cross our
track, they are equally certain to come upon us before long. We must,
however, hope for the best. Go forward as you propose, and may Heaven
protect you, my boy."

Without stopping to bid Lily and my aunt good-bye I hurried on, keeping
my gaze on the fire, which, growing brighter as I advanced, enabled me
without difficulty to direct my course for it. The ground was tolerably
even, but sloped slightly downwards in the direction I was taking. The
fire, indeed, when I first saw it, appeared to be in a hollow, or at all
events at a lower elevation than that where we were standing. I looked
back once or twice, and quickly lost sight of the waggon. So far I was
satisfied that, should the people who had made the fire be Indians, they
would not discover the waggon until daylight, by which time I hoped we
should be able to conceal ourselves among the hills in the
neighbourhood.

I hurried on as fast as I could venture to move, ignorant of what was
before me. It would be useless, I knew, to attempt concealing my trail,
but as I did not intend to go nearer the camp-fire than was necessary to
make out who were there, I hoped some time would elapse after I had
retreated before the Indians could discover that any one had been near
them. Now and then, when crossing a hill, I lost sight of the fire, and
had to direct my course by the stars overhead. Again I saw it before
me, blazing brightly. I hoped that Uncle Stephen was right in his
conjectures. The fire, however, was further off than I had supposed,
and the greater part of