difficult to hit. An arrow could
scarcely strike him, and in no case could the wound be other than
slight, for the shot must come from a distance, as there was, he felt
certain, no one near by.

He glided like a snake, or rather like a huge lizard, which crawls over
obstacles, and whose body adapts itself to depressions instead of
crossing or bridging them over. His cautious progress scarcely caused a
leaf to rustle or a stone to rattle, and these noises were perceptible
only in the vicinity of where they were produced. So he pushed himself
gradually close up to a ledge, which, while of indifferent height,
still protected his body somewhat. On this ledge he expected to notice
scratches which indicated that the trail passed over it.

It was as he suspected,--the rock was slightly worn by human feet; but
of fresh tracks there could of course be no trace here, for only long
and constant wear and tear, and not an occasional hurried tread, can
leave marks behind. But Topanashka noticed a few fragments of rock and
little bits of stone that lay alongside the old worn-out channel.
Without lifting his head, he extended his arm, grasped some of the
fragments, and began to examine them.

Loose rocks or stones that have been lying on the ground undisturbed for
some time, always have their lower surface moist, while the upper dries
rapidly. When the yellowish tufa of these regions becomes wet, it
changes colour and grows of a darker hue. Topanashka had noticed that
some among the stones which he was examining were darker than the
others. The Indian, when he examines anything, looks at it very
carefully. One of the fragments was darker on the surface; of this he
felt sure, as when he removed them he was careful to keep them as they
lay. Below, the piece had its natural colour, that of dry stone. He
assured himself that the darker shade really proceeded from humidity; it
was still moist. The fragment, therefore, must have been turned over;
and that, too, a very short time ago. Only a large animal or a man could
have done this. He looked closely to see whether there were any
scratches indicative of the passage of deer-hoofs or bear-claws, but
there were none except those that appeared so large as to show plainly
from a distance. There was every likelihood, therefore, that some human
being had but very lately moved the stones, and not only since the rain
of last night but since the surface had had time to dry again; that is,
in the c