"I do hope our friends found all the strings of trout we left along the bank of that stream; and that there were more than they could use at one time. It would be fine if we got a taste of the same, Dick, after all this fuss." "I was just thinking," remarked practical Dick, who certainly was not bothering his head about trout, or any other kind of food, "that, after all, that storm may have done us one kindness." "Tell me how, then?" demanded Roger, who failed to agree with him until he could be shown the facts. "The rain must have washed all our tracks out, so not even the sharpest-eyed Indian brave could follow our trail," explained the other, and of course Roger found himself in full accord with the theory advanced, for, like the story of Columbus and the envious Spanish courtiers, things looked very different after the explanation. With a last backward look toward the friendly old tree that had afforded them shelter in the storm, the two lads tightened their belts and set off on their long tramp, expecting to strike the bank of the Missouri by the time the sun was ready to set. CHAPTER XIX UNDER THE FALLEN FOREST MONARCH "THERE! that makes the fourth tree I've seen blown down in the storm," remarked Roger, after they had been walking through the forest for some time. "Yes, and in every case if you went to the trouble to examine those trees," he was told by Dick, "you would find that they were rotten at the heart. They may keep on standing up with the rest, and seem to be perfect, but when the wind sweeps through the forest it searches out the weak and imperfect trees, and topples them over." "That must be what grandfather means when he talks about the 'survival of the fittest,'" Roger mused. "He says that Nature knows what is best for everything, and keeps thinning out the weak ones along every line." "Then there must have been a lot of poor trash over yonder," chuckled Dick, "for I can see a number of trees down." "Oh! what was that!" suddenly asked Roger. "It sounded to me like a groan," his companion admitted, as both of them stood still in order to listen. "There it comes again, Dick, and, just as you said, it must be a groan. I wonder if any one could have been caught under a tree when it fell?" "We must be cautious how we move forward," as Dick's advice, "because we know the treacherous nature of these Indians." "Do you mean it might turn out to be a trap?" demanded Roger. "There is always a chance of that, so, while we make our way in that direction, we must be ready to run if we discover any lurking reds about." Dick also kept his rifle in readiness in case of a sudden emergency. It might be a shot would check a rush on the part of their enemies, and thus enable the boys to get a fair start. Guided by the groans, which now came louder and more frequently, they were not long in making a discovery.