chill of the water,
he took a quick bath. Then, while he was wrapped in the blankets and the
painted coat, he washed all his clothing thoroughly, as he had done once
before, and dried it by the fire. When he was able to put it on again,
he washed the blankets in their turn and dried them. He would have
served the painted coat in a similar manner, but, as that was
impossible, he rubbed and pounded it thoroughly.

His forest toilet complete, Henry felt himself a new man once more,
inwardly and outwardly, freshened up, made presentable to the eye. He
knew that he was haggard and worn. Hercules himself would have been,
after such a flight and pursuit, but at least he was dressed as a forest
runner, neat by nature and careful in his attire, should be.

Now he followed the traces with renewed strength and speed, and he found
that they came more closely together, a fact indicating the absence of
Indians from the immediate region, as the four would not leave so broad
a trail, unless they knew it would not bring a strong force of Indians
upon them. Straight now it led, and he crossed numerous frozen streams
and pools or lagoons, and then the night that he felt sure was to be the
last one came, as bitterly cold as ever.

The next morning he did not put out his fire as usual, instead he built
it up higher, and, passing one of the blankets rapidly back and forth
over it, sent up ring after ring of smoke. They did not thin away and
vanish until they were high in the clear, intensely cold blue sky.

When his eyes had followed the rings a little while he turned them
toward the eastern horizon and watched there closely. Despite all the
efforts of his will his heart throbbed hard. Would the answer come? He
waited a full half hour, and then his pulses gave a great leap. Rings of
smoke began to rise there under the sky's rim a full mile away,
ascending like his own into the cold air, where, high up, they thinned
away and vanished. Then his pulses gave another great leap as a second
series of rings rose close beside the first, to be followed quickly by a
third and a fourth. Four fires and four groups of smoke rings rising
into the air! The last doubt disappeared. Paul, the shiftless one, the
silent one, and Long Jim were there. Doubtless they had signaled before,
and now at last he had called to them.

In his wild exultation he kicked the coals of his own fire apart and
started swiftly toward the four groups of smoke rings. On his way