Silently, lightly, the four men picked their steps among the great tree trunks.
Suddenly Du Lhut dropped upon his knees and stooped his ear to the ground.

He rose, shook his head, and walked on with a grave face, casting quick little glances into the shadows in every direction.
"Did you hear something ?" whispered Amos.
Du Lhut put his finger to his lips, and then in an instant was down again upon his face with his ear fixed to the ground.

He sprang up with the look of a man who has heard what he expected to hear.
"Walk on," said he quietly, "and behave exactly as you have done all day." "What is it, then ?" "Indians." "In front of us ?" "No, behind us." "What are they doing ?" "They are following us." "How many of them ?" "Two, I think." The friends glanced back involuntarily over their shoulders into the dense blackness of the forest.

At one point a single broad shaft of light slid down between two pines and cast a golden blotch upon their track.

Save for this one vivid spot all was sombre and silent.
"Do not look round," whispered Du Lhut sharply.