All these turnings the young hunter retraced with the greatest care and patience.

In this he showed his judgment and his knowledge of hunter-craft; for, had he grown impatient and taken a wider range to find the trail, he might have fallen upon his last-made tracks, and thus have brought himself into a regular maze.
After a while the circles in which he travelled became larger; and, to his great joy, he at length found himself advancing in a straight line.
Many horse-tracks crossed his trail; some of them nearly as fresh as his own.

These did not baffle him.

They were the tracks of mustangs; and although Black Hawk was not shod any more than they, his rider knew the print of the latter's hoof as well as he knew the appearance of his own rifle.

The Arab's track was considerably larger than those of the wild horses.
After following the trail backward for nearly an hour,--his eyes all the time bent upon the ground,--he was suddenly startled by a voice calling him by name.