Frontier lads early learned a multitude of things connected with trailing that had to be known in order to give them equal advantages with the cunning Indian, or the wise four-footed denizens of the woods. They understood the nature of the animal that made certain tracks, whither he was bound at the time, whether toward home or in search of his prey; just how he limped with one of his legs that had likely been injured at some time; how he crouched in the snow, perhaps waiting until his intended quarry came within reach, and then sprang--to fall short, because the imprint of his paws lay in plain view and those made by the feet of the escaping creature were just beyond. In many ways they could read the story by means of the telltale tracks. An education may not always mean ability to talk in Latin, or read scientific works; both of which would be very poor accomplishments when out in the great wilderness. So Pat was able to follow the Frenchmen, no matter how many times they resorted to tricks of this sort. In the first place he had done similar things himself on many occasions, and was therefore familiar with them all; and then again, Pat was on the constant lookout for trickery, and the instant he lost sight of the trail, his first act was to look around and decide what he would probably have done, had he been seeking to escape under the same circumstances. "It's already getting a little dim; don't you think, Bob?" asked Sandy, after they had been moving along in this fashion for considerably more than an hour. "I'm afraid that's so, Sandy," returned the other. "And pretty soon Pat will be telling us that he can follow the trail no longer," pursued the disconsolate one. "Then here we'll have to settle down for the night, and wait for it to get light enough to see, when we'll be off in a big hurry. I wish I could do what Joshua did, you know, Bob." "Make the sun stand still, you mean, Sandy?" "Yes, because that would give us more time to keep chasing after these rascally Frenchmen," replied the other, with vehemence. "Oh! yes, but you forget that, if the daylight remained, and they kept on moving all the time, they would be holding their own against us, and continuing to play those tricks that so far have failed to hoodwink Pat." "But I hope he will never think of giving up the pursuit as long as we can find a single trace of where they have gone. This is the last chance we're ever going to have to get back that belt; and something tells me that, if we keep after them, just like the wolf does the wounded stag, day and night, without ever quitting, why, we're just bound to catch up with Jacques and Henri--some time or other." "Wait and see what happens," was all Bob would say; but Sandy knew that his elder brother had considerable persistency in his nature; and on this account he hugged a hope that Bob would want to keep on the track of the thieves until in the end they were overhauled.