efore always cautious
as to the moves he made. Anvik caught sight of him instantly, and Tad
beckoned. The guide did not appear to have observed the signal, but
taking up his hatchet as if going out for wood, he strode from the camp
also, and Butler seeing that the guide was coming, turned and walked
briskly away from the camp.

The freckle-faced boy led for a short quarter of a mile straight over
the plateau, a thickly wooded, rugged plain. Then he halted, waiting for
the guide to come up. Tad pointed to a heap of ashes, the remains of a
campfire.

"Huh!" grunted the Indian.

"Someone has been here before us," nodded Tad. "And not so very long
ago, I should say. What do you make of it, Anvik?"

"You see um?"

Butler nodded.

"What you see?"

"A dead campfire."

"Huh. Heap much. What else you see?"

"I see a few things, Anvik. Of course I can't see as much as you do, but
I should say this camp was not more than a day old. This fire was
blazing yesterday. The ashes aren't the right color for a very old one."

"One sun," grunted the Indian.

"It looks to me as if there had been two men here. Am I right?"

"Heap good. Two men. Leave, big hurry. Him go that way. Stay here two
hour. Wonder why big hurry?"

"Perhaps they wanted to get somewhere, some place for which they had set
out in a hurry. They had two ponies and pretty heavy packs."

Anvik nodded.

"White boy much wise. Him see almost like Indian. My father him shaman.
Him teach Anvik see many thing. White boy him see almost as much as
Anvik."

"Where do you think they are going?"

"Not know."

"Perhaps they are miners prospecting for a claim."

Anvik shook his head.

"Too much big hurry. No prospect. Mebby go get claim. Mebby see um
again."

"I hope we do. It would be pleasant to have some company in this wild
place. They went in that direction when they broke camp. Is that the way
we go?" asked Tad.

"We follow um trail."

"Then let's go back and get ready to move."

The pair strode back without another word, the Indian's admiration for
the freckle-faced boy having increased greatly since Tad had beckoned
him from the camp.

Shortly after noon as they were casting about for a favorable place in
which to make their mid-day halt, Ned Rector, who was riding to the
right of the others, uttered a shout.

"What is it?" cried Tad.

"There has been a campfire here."

"How did you find it?" wondered Tad.

"My pony walked through it and