“Aw, what good news would they have to communicate?” asked Sandy.

“Perhaps they’ve found the Little Brass God!” suggested Thede.

“Found your Little Brass Uncle!” cried Sandy.

“Well, it’s good news anyhow!” insisted Thede.  “If it wasn’t the boys wouldn’t be taking the pains to build three big fires in order to tell us about it.”

The Indian appeared to be suspicious of the campfires ahead until the boys explained to him, with much difficulty, that the fires had undoubtedly been built by their friends, and that they conveyed the information that agreeable developments awaited them.

The slope of the hills was now bathed in moonlight, and the Indian hesitated about advancing over the many clear places from which the timber fell away.  Urged on by the boys, however, he finally proceeded cautiously in the direction of the fires, keeping out of the moonlight as far as possible.

“Oje’s afraid we’ll bunt into something,” Thede said, as they clambered up the slope.  “I wonder what he’d think if he should be called out of his bed by a blooming magician from the East Indies.”

The signal coming from the hills was farther to the east than the boys had ventured before.  The fires seemed to have been built high up on a shelf of rock facing the north.

When the boys came closer they saw two figures moving about in front of the flames.  Directly they bad no difficulty whatever in recognizing Will and Tommy, as they heaped great piles of green boughs on the coals in order to create dense smoke.

“The kids are in the center of the stage all right!” laughed Sandy.

“I don’t see how they dare build fires out in that exposed place,” Thede suggested.  “There’s no knowing who may be prowling around.”

“Perhaps they know where the few enemies we have found in this section are keeping themselves!”

“Perhaps they’ve got ’em shut up in some of their own caverns!” Thede suggested.  “Anyway,” he went on, “there’s something doing, or they wouldn’t be talking Boy Scout to us at this time of night.”

As the boys drew still closer they heard the labored breathing of some one running, apparently only a short distance away.

Oje darted away in the direction of the sounds, but soon returned to where the boys waited and headed once more for the Boy Scout signal.

“What did you see, Oje?” Thede asked.

The Indian turned and pointed back over the snowy trail they had followed from the burning tree.

“Man from there!” he said.

“Antoine?” asked Sandy.

The Indian nodded and continued up the slope as if the matter were unworthy of further attention.

“Now, what do you suppose Antoine came here for?” asked Thede.

“Attracted by the fire, probably,”

“I don’t understand what he’s roaming about so much for,” Thede continued.  “What was he doing out at the burning tree?”