nion of both Hen was
getting pretty tired. This they could make out in various ways known
to scouts who had made a business of reading the story to be found in
tracks.

"You can see how uneven Hen walks most of the time," said Lil Artha;
"he wobbles even worse than Landy here, which goes to show he's getting
pretty tuckered out. Can you blame the poor fellow when p'raps he's
weak from hunger? If any of us had to go without a bite to eat all day
we'd get wobbly on our pins, too."

There was no dissenting voice raised to this assertion; eating is so
essential to the average boy that nothing on earth can compensate for a
dearth of food at the regular intervals.

"Then we saw several places where Hen had sat down to rest, you
remember," Elmer reminded the other.

"Yes, and the last time it struck us both that the man had yanked him
to his feet again by main force; which I take it wasn't as nice and
kind of that bully as you might expect," Lil Artha went on to say.

"Oh! the coward!" Chatz was heard to growl, and the look on his face as
he said those few words told what he meant to do if ever the
opportunity came his way to strike a blow for the abducted chum.

Filled with renewed determination after this little conference, they
once more took up their task. Lil Artha likened their progress to the
ways of the Siberian wolf that follows its quarry day and night until
in the end its very persistence wins the victory.

"We're in this to the finish," he was fond of saying whenever he had
the chance, "and sooner or later we'll get him. The boys of the Wolf
Patrol mean to stick to their name, and run the prey to the earth. He
just can't get away nohow. All we've got to do is to keep moving, and
believe the game is going to come our way. Everybody put his best foot
forward again. It's for the honor of the patrol, boys, that we get
hold of Hen Condit before the Chief takes him in."

It was now two hours and more since they had started on this new trail.
Before this time no doubt the posse must have reached the deserted
hide-out, and learned that the birds had flown. Yes, it was even
possible that they were coming along the plain trail the seven scouts
had left behind them.

Figuring then that the bulky Chief and his men would not exceed their
own rate of progress, they could count on almost two full hours'
advantage over the others. That surely ought to be an abundance of
time in which to carry out their plans,