At early dawn Dave had discovered a squirrel on a branch near by, and laid the game low with an arrow. This had made him do a little hunting with the bow, and he had ended by obtaining four squirrels. These, broiled over the fire, gave them a good breakfast, washed down as it was by a drink from the river. They looked up the watercourse as far as they could, but saw no signs of the Indians. They were soon on the tramp. Knowing that Henry’s ankle must still pain him, Dave let his cousin set the pace. This was somewhat slow for the frontier youths, but would have proved stiff walking for anybody not used to it. The route was comparatively easy to travel, and by high noon, when they sat down to rest, they calculated that they had covered at least eight miles. “The sun is breaking through the clouds, and I am going to take another look around,” said Dave, and this time Henry climbed a tree with him. A grand panorama of woods, hills, and waters was spread around them, and at a distance they saw where Fort Pitt was located, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. “There is the fort!” cried Dave, light-heartedly. “Henry we are almost on the direct road!” “And not an Indian in sight, so far as I can see,” was the answer, as Henry’s trained eye moved slowly from one direction to another. “Let us go on again. I want to get back before night—if it can be done. But, of course, you’ll have to set the pace,” added Dave, considerately. As they journeyed along they talked over the situation, and wondered if the Indians had taken possession of the dead bear and her cubs. “I don’t think they took the whole bear,” said Henry. “Maybe they took the hide and the choicest of the meat.” “I didn’t dare to watch them too closely, for fear of being caught,” said Dave. They took an almost direct course for the fort, and by the middle of the afternoon calculated that they were but two or three miles away. Nothing had come to alarm them outside of the appearance of a rattlesnake that glided from under a rock over which they were stepping. They lost no time in giving the reptile a wide berth, and on his part the rattlesnake did not attempt to molest them. “I think we’ll reach Fort Pitt by sundown,” said Henry. “We might do it in less time, but there is no use in hurrying.” “Does the ankle still hurt?” “It doesn’t hurt very much, but it feels weak. I think I’ll rest all day to-morrow.” “We’ll have earned a rest, I’m thinking,” returned Dave, with a grim smile. “Won’t they open their eyes at the fort when they hear the story we have to tell!” Another mile was covered, and they had to pass around a hollow filled with thick brushwood. Henry was in advance, when he came to a sudden halt. “Here is our chance, Dave!” he whispered. “We won’t have to go back empty-handed.” Dave pressed to the front and took a look ahead. There, among the bushes, was a beautiful doe with a fair-sized fawn beside her.