Part 13 (2/2)
”How do you do that?”
”By the way they walk, by their size, or by some action that seems to be peculiar to them.”
”The observations are correct,” answered John. ”At the same time, if all the men you knew happened to be in a crowd, and moving around among each other, you would be able to recognize and place each without any difficulty; is not that true!”
”Yes; and I think I understand the trend of your remark now.”
”And what is that?”
”You mean to say that if the scouts are able to read, or to become acquainted with the foot prints, they can read them as readily as I would read the faces of my friends.”
”That is the exact inference I wish to draw.”
”Well, I want to see that done,” and Harry followed up Uraso, and watched Muro, and the most intelligent of the scouts, while they carefully stepped over the ground, each being careful while doing so to step in the foot marks of the preceding scout.
”That is a curious thing to do,” he remarked, as he turned to John.
”What is that?” the latter asked.
”Stepping in the tracks made by the leader.”
”That is for the purpose of keeping the surface of the ground absolutely the same as the tribe left it.”
”Well the boys seem to understand detective work pretty well.”
All of them laughed at this complimentary allusion, as it must be understood that all the scouts taken from the island had learned to speak the English language, and some of them, like Uraso, were exceptionally skilled.
When the different ones had gone over the ground thoroughly, John asked the opinion of the searchers.
”From my count there must have been twenty-four,” remarked Uraso.
Muro smiled, as he said: ”Uraso is mistaken, there are twenty-five.”
Uraso was not at all perturbed, but walked over to the surveyed plot and said: ”The most prominent one is the fellow with the spreading toes.
See! here is his left foot. See that broad foot is all around the place.
This broad foot with a toe missing, is another fellow; and here are two with rather long feet, you can see them all about, and they are, no doubt, active fellows.”
”Well, that is picking them out plainly enough,” remarked Harry.
”But,” continued Uraso, ”I want you to look at this foot. It is the largest I ever saw.”
”I am satisfied that fellow is the Chief,” remarked Muro.
”There is evidence of that here too,” said Uraso, as Muro nodded his head.
Harry looked on in bewilderment. ”a.s.suredly that is something new. How do you know _that_?” he asked.
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