The thought which had so suddenly occurred to him was a good one, the only one that could with certainty save him.

He had resolved to _return upon his own tracks_.
He wheeled his horse; and, with eyes bent upon the ground, rode slowly along.

The turf was firm, and the hoof-marks were not deep; but Basil had a hunter's eye, and could follow the track of a fawn.

In a few minutes he arrived on the spot where he had killed the turkey.

The blood and feathers upon the grass made him sure of this.