THE MOUNTAINEERS 99 



still for almost a week. Then they casually moved 

 down the Jefferson towards the main Missouri. 



The hunting-ground was still good. Weren t the 

 mountaineers leaving a trifle too soon? Should the 

 Americans follow or stay? Vanderburgh remained, 

 moving over into the adjacent valley and spreading his 

 traps along the Madison. Drips followed the moun 

 taineers. 



Two weeks chase over utterly gameless ground 

 probably suggested to Drips that even an animal will 

 lead off on a false scent to draw the enemy away from 

 the true trail. At the Missouri he turned back up the 

 Jefferson. 



Wheeling right about, the mountaineers at once 

 turned back too, up the farthest valley, the Gallatin, 

 then on the way to the first hunting-ground westward 

 over a divide to the Madison, where ill luck ! they 

 again met their ubiquitous rival, Vanderburgh! 



How Vanderburgh laughed at these antics one may 

 guess ! 



Post-haste up the Madison went the mountaineers ! 



Should Vanderburgh stay or follow ? Certainly the 

 enemy had been bound back for the good hunting- 

 grounds when they had turned to retrace their way up 

 the Madison. If they meant to try the Jefferson, Van 

 derburgh would forestall the move. He crossed over 

 to the valley where he had first found them. 



Sure enough there were camp-fires on the old hunt 

 ing-grounds, a dead buffalo, from which the hunters 

 had just fled to avoid Vanderburgh ! If Vanderburgh 

 laughed, his laugh was short ; for there were signs that 

 the buffalo had been slain by an Indian. 



The trappers refused to hunt where there were 



