see plenty in front of us."

"White man's not there--gone."

A minute examination revealed the fact that most of the impressions
were now made by persons passing _backward_ as well as forward, as
though confusion had arisen from some cause. O'Hara suspected the
reason of this, but, without venturing an opinion, questioned his dusky
friend:

"Huntin' for tracks," he answered. "White man gone."

The two now walked slowly backward, their gaze wandering along the
sides of the ravine instead of the bottom. In a moment the quick eye of
the Indian discerned the spot where he judged the exit had been made,
and a short examination proved that he was right. The feet of Dernor
had sunk deep in the soft earth as he made his Herculean efforts in the
ascent, while those of his pursuers were so light that they hardly
disturbed them.

Up out of the ravine came the Huron and hunter, and into the woods they
plunged, following the trail now with the greatest readiness. A short
distance further they reached the banks where Edith had concealed
herself, and here, for a time, even the red-skin was at fault. He saw
that the shrubbery had been passed by most of the pursuers without
their having approached closely enough to make an examination. From the
circuit which Dernor had made to reach these bushes, the quick-witted
Huron rightly suspected that he had turned them to some account.
Accordingly, he cautiously parted them and looked in. An immediate
"Ugh!" showed O'Hara that he had made some discovery.

"Hide gal there--then run on."

"Where is she?"

"Injin didn't git her in bushes," replied the savage, implying that if
she was captured at all it was not done here.

"Go on, then," added O'Hara.

It was now noticed that the steps of the fugitive had shortened, it
following, as a natural consequence, that he had slackened his speed at
this point. Several hundred yards further on, another fact was
observed. The pursuing Indians, instead of adhering to the trail, as
they had done heretofore, separated and left it. This, to both Oonamoo
and O'Hara was evidence that they had either come in sight of Dernor,
or else were so certain of the direction he was taking that they did
not deem it necessary to watch his footsteps. The Rifleman could not
believe the former was the case, inasmuch as it was the very thing,
above all others, which his leader would seek to avoid; for the most
requisite condition to the success of his artifice, was tha