m!"

I certainly noticed some slight hollows in the surface, nearly levelled
up by the black ashes. I should not have known them to be horse-tracks.

"They ur," said Rube, "every one o' 'em--an Injun hoss-tracks too--
sartint they ur."

"They may be the wild-hosses, Rube?" said one of the rangers, riding up
and surveying the sign.

"Wild jackasses!" angrily retorted the old trapper. "Whur did _you_
ever see a wild-hoss? Do 'ee s'pose I've turned stone-blind, do 'ee?
Stan thur, my mar!" he cried, talking to his mare, flinging his lean
carcass out of the saddle at the same time: "stan thur! 'ee knows better
than thet fellur, I kin tell by the way yur sniftin'. Keep yur ground a
minnit, ole gurl, till Rube Rawlins shew these hyur greenhorns how a
mountain man kin read sign--wild-hosses! wagh!"

After thus delivering himself, the trapper dropped upon his knees,
placed his lips close to the ground, and commenced blowing at the black
ashes.

The others had by this time ridden up, and sat in their saddles watching
him. We saw that he was clearing the ashes out of one of the hollows
which he had pronounced to be horse-tracks, and which now proved to be
so.

"'Thur now, mister!" said he, turning triumphantly, and rather savagely,
upon the ranger who had questioned the truth of his conjecture: "thur's
a _shod_ track--shod wi' parflesh too. Did 'ee ever see a wild-hoss, or
a wild mule, or a wild jackass eyther, shod wi' parflesh? Ef 'ee did,
it's more'n Rube Rawlins ever seed, an thet ur trapper's been on the
hoss-plains well-nigh forty yeern. Wagh!"

Of course, there was no reply to this interrogatory. There was the
track; and, dismounting, all examined it in turn.

Sure enough it was the track of a shod horse--shod with _parfleche_--
thick leather made from the hide of the buffalo bull.

We all knew this to be a mode of shoeing practised by the horse-Indians
of the plains, and only by them.

The evidence was conclusive: Indians had been upon the ground.

CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE.

TRANSLATING THE "SIGN."

This discovery brought us to a pause. A consultation ensued, in which
all took part; but as usual, the others listened to the opinions of the
prairie-men, and especially to that of Rube.

The old trapper was inclined to sulk for some time, and acted as if he
meant to withhold his advice. Nothing "miffed" him more than to have
his word contradicted or his skill called in question. I have known him