Bob was keeping his wits about him all this while. He noticed the direction they were taking, and could even give a pretty fair guess as to the distance yet to be traversed before they could hope to reach the tied-up boat. "I don't believe we are more than a single mile away from them now; is that so, Pat?" he asked, as they sat there, resting again. "Sure, ye do be a smart lad, Bob," replied the other, in his usual whisper, which the boys had come to imitate, though it gave a very mysterious air to their surroundings; "and, av I do know annything at all, that's about the distance we sthill have to cover. But don't be worryin' about me; for I tell yees I can make it by hook or by crook. It ain't often as Pat O'Mara--whist, he sthill now, both av yees!" Bob felt a sudden thrill as the Irish trapper finished his sentence in this surprising manner. He knew what it must mean only too well. Pat had keen ears, even as he also possessed the eyes of a hawk. His long life in the woods had made him the equal of a redskin in these respects, as well as many others pertaining to following a faint trail, reading signs from the track of a wild animal, big or small, and such tricks as Indians know from boyhood. It was plainly evident from his manner that he had either seen or heard something suspicious, and, under the circumstances, this could only mean hostile Indians. Bob saw that the other was looking away toward the left, which was where the river must lie, for it had been their intention, after striking the water, to try to follow up the shore, hoping to take advantage of the shallow strip of open that often lay between the margin of the river and the dense woods. At the moment they happened to be down in a sort of shallow gully. A low ridge arose between the spot where they rested and the river. The moon was very nearly half full and, where the great trees did not shut out the light, it was easy to see the top of this small ridge, for it happened to be bald in places. Pat was staring straight upward toward one of these open spots; and Bob naturally allowed his eyes to travel in the same quarter. He heard Sandy give a low gasp; nor did Bob blame his brother in the least for thus allowing an indication of his astonishment and dismay to escape him. For against the clear sky, plainly outlined in the moonlight, there was a figure, walking swiftly along the ridge, and heading up the river. There was no need for any one to explain what those feathers stuck in the scalplock meant, for Bob knew he was looking upon an Indian in his war dress. Doubtless, had he been closer, the paint that was daubed upon his cheeks and forehead could have been seen. Even the gun he carried, undoubtedly purchased by a bundle of rich furs from the French traders of the Mississippi posts, could be seen, as he picked his way across the little gap in the dark intervening forest, and then vanished beyond.