u remember we

[McEniry Ciardullo]

 sort of a reception they might expect when finally they overtook the
man they were following. What little they could gather from various
sources inclined them to believe he must be a pretty desperate sort of
customer. The occasional mention of him in that strange message left by
Hen was along those very lines. He might be armed for all they knew.
Such criminals usually are, though in this case it might be otherwise,
Elmer had told them, since he believed the man had been a prisoner
making his escape when first he struck Sassafras Swamp, and concluded to
have his hide-out in its depths. Still Lil Artha was not for taking too
many chances. As he moved along, the tall scout managed to keep that
reliable gun of his in position for quick use, should an occasion arise
calling for service. He also tried to glance ahead from time to time, in
hopes of locating any suspicious ambuscade. A sudden attack that would
leave himself and Elmer weaponless might throw the entire party into a
state of helplessness, which would always reflect on their ability as
scouts. They spent half an hour in this fashion, though the trail wound
in and out so much that at the end of that time they could hardly have
been more than a quarter of a mile away from the late camp of the
fugitives. "Did you hear that, Elmer?" whispered Lil Artha, suddenly,
throwing out a hand so as to clutch the other's arm; while everyone
became rigid with suspense. "It certainly sounded like a cough,"
admitted the other. "But I'm dead certain it wasn't from in front of us,
but over to the left, which would be some queer," muttered the tall
tracker, staring in the quarter which he now indicated with outstretched
finger. "I thought the same, Lil Artha," Elmer told him; "but then this
trail twists and turns so much it might get around that way easy
enough." "Of course it might, Elmer." "All we can do is to keep going
along as we are, and some of us watch for signs of Hen and the man over
yonder," added the scout-master. "Then you don't think it'd pay to
strike out to the left?" questioned the other, who seemed to be
hesitating between two opinions. "We would be silly to quit a sure thing
for an uncertainty," said Elmer, decidedly. "After all our ears may have
deceived us, and it might have only been some queer grunt of a frog, a
heron fishing for minnows, or even a muskrat choking over his dinner.
No, we must keep on as we're going, that's sure.
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