If so, it would indicate that they did not want to be seen.
When he had smoked out his pipe he gathered some wood, and then, as Father Lucien had not wakened, thought he would look for the others' trail and see which way they had gone.

They were traveling north, but two routes the Indians used started from the head of the lake.

He found the marks of the sledge-runners, and then noted with a thrill of excitement that there was something curious about one of the men's tracks.

The steps were uneven; one impression was sharper than the other.
Imagining that the party would camp soon, Thirlwell determined to follow and presently came to a rough slope where the trail left the ice.
Caution was now needed, because he could not see far and might be heard if he made much noise in pushing through the bush.

The silence that brooded over the woods indicated that the others had stopped.