Page:Hugh Pendexter--The young timber-cruisers.djvu/275

 “A campfire!” cried Abner, quickly leaving his task of preparing the coffee. “Where?”

Stanley indicated the charred embers he had discovered, and with a smothered exclamation Abner kneeled and examined them closely.

“They’re ahead of us,” he quietly announced as he rose to his feet.

“They? who?” asked Stanley, his voice a bit nervous.

“Members of the Nace outfit,” shortly replied Abner, his face drawing down.

“But how do you know?” persisted Stanley, gazing apprehensively over his shoulder at the still, dusky depths of the forest.

“It’s a fresh fire,” explained Abner, the worried look deepening on his wrinkled features.

Bub came forward and examined the blackened sticks and pieces of charcoal carefully. “It was built before the rain of night before last,” he said.

“That’s right,” frowned Abner. “And it means they are only a day ahead of us.”

“But why do you say ‘they’?” There may be only one,” suggested Stanley.

“They are following the stream. They have a canoe,” replied Abner. “If there was but one man we’d overhauled him. There are