"If so, we should have met with some sign--" argued another, hesitating
at the thought of what that sign might be.
"It is probable that she has been stolen by the Indians," said
Lieutenant Miller, of the Fort; "and we must adopt other means to
recover her."
Once more dusk was approaching, and they were about to turn back,
when--hark! there was a shout from the borders of the canon beyond. A
few moments before, Abe, the old scout, had disappeared in that
direction. As he pressed onward he presently discovered that, in a
wavering line, the brambles seemed to have been recently trodden down.
A little farther on, almost hidden among the briers and dry leaves, lay
a withered wild flower, like those that grew in the plain below; and
farther still, caught upon a bush, was a bit of the fringe of a shawl,
so small that it might have escaped any but his "hunter's eye." As he
stood still, with senses alert, he heard a sound amid the brush; and,
turning quickly, saw that which made him send forth the ringing halloo
to his comrades. It was a little dog crawling down toward a hollow,
where a spring of water gushed from the ground.
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