Within him the hound-
like instincts of the man-hunter rose swiftly to the suspicion of
invisible presence.
He began to note the changes in the cries of certain birds. A
hundred yards on his right a jay, most talkative of all the forest
things, was screeching with a new note in its voice. On the other
side of him, in a dense pocket of poplar and spruce, a warbler
suddenly brought its song to a jerky end. He heard the excited Pe-
wee--Pe-wee--Pe-wee of a startled little gray-back giving warning
of an unwelcome intruder near its nest. And he rose to his feet,
laughing softly as he thumbed down the tobacco in his pipe. Jeanne
Marie-Anne Boulain might believe in him, but Bateese and her wary
henchmen had ways of their own of strengthening their faith.
It was close to noon when he turned back, and he did not return by
the moose path. Deliberately he struck out a hundred yards on
either side of it, traveling where the moss grew thick and the
earth was damp and soft. And five times he found the moccasin-
prints of men.
Bateese, with his sleeves up, was scrubbing the deck of the bateau
when David came over the plank.
"There are moose and caribou in there, but I fear I disturbed your
hunters," said Carrigan, grinning at the half-breed.
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