indications of footprints. The latter were
unmistakable at many places, and both announced that the savages had
been there, beyond question.

This meant the appointment of a scouting party for the advance of the
team, and John took this duty on himself, stipulating that the different
boys should alternately accompany him, and thus adapt themselves to the
serious work that scouting meant.

Harry was the first detailed to go with him, and at intervals he would
go back and signal the team to follow, so that they made fair time along
the immediate vicinity of the stream, and thus progressed with some
speed, in what now appeared to be the country where the savages lurked.

In the march John found numerous marks of the savages, and before noon
was halted at the remains of a fire still glowing, that the savages had
quitted not an hour before.

"How many do you think are in the party?"

"Not more than a half dozen."

"It seems to me we ought to stop a day, so they could get ahead of us,
or we might run into them."

"I am making every effort to catch up with them. We are out to meet the
savages, and the sooner we get a chance at them the better it will be."

Harry had not taken that view of it, and concluded John's plan was the
proper thing to follow out.

"I think myself it would be better to meet a half dozen than the whole
tribe." But that, even, was not John's purpose.

When they reached the wagon, after the glowing camp fire had been
discovered, John hurriedly gave his views: "The band is in our immediate
vicinity. If we hurry up we can catch up with them before night. I have
trailed them now for three hours. I will continue the pursuit as fast as
possible, and it would be well to follow me as fast as the yaks can be
driven through the brush. We must meet them and capture them before they
reach their main band, so that we can get such information as they may
have for our guidance."

John, Harry and Ralph now plunged forward, so that the two boys would
enable him to make a chain of information back to the wagon, and it was
understood that the moment they were sighted, the wagon was to be
hurried forward to the spot selected by John.

It was not anticipated that the band would be numerous enough to require
them to establish their traveling fort, and the sole object was to
capture one or more of the savages in the first engagement.

For some reason John did not report sighting them during the entire
afternoon,