CHAPTER XIX

THE DESERTED TEPEES

Starting at daybreak, they reached a hillside overlooking the Stony village on the third afternoon. Surrounded by willows and ragged spruces, the conical tepees rose in the plain beneath, but Blake stopped abruptly as he caught sight of them. They were white to the apex, where the escaping heat of the fire within generally melted the snow, and no curl of smoke floated across the clearing. The village was ominously silent and had a deserted look.

"I'm very much afraid Clarke's friends are not at home," Blake said with forced calm. "We'll know more about it in half an hour; that is, if you think it worth while to go down."

Harding and Benson were silent a moment, struggling with their disappointment. They had made a toilsome journey to reach the village, their food was nearly exhausted, and it would cost them two days to return to the valley, which was their best road to the south.

"Now that we're here, we may as well spend another hour over the job," Harding decided. "It's possible they haven't packed all their food along."

His companions suspected that they were wasting time, but they followed him down the hill, until Benson, who was a short distance to one side of them, called out. When they joined him he indicated a row of footsteps leading up the slope.

"That fellow hasn't been gone very long; there was snow yesterday," he said. "By the line he took, he must have passed near us. I wonder why he stayed on after the others."

Now, provide a numbered list of answers to these questions:

1. How long did it take them to get to the village?
2. Were there many people there?
3. How long would it take them to reach the village?
4. According to whom?
5. Whose friends were they looking for?
6. Were they disappointed?
7. How long would it take them to go another way?
8. Which direction was that?
9. Had it been an easy trip?
10. What were they running low on?
11. Who suggested checking the village, anyway?
12. Did everyone else agree?
13. What did they see on the hillside?
14. Were they fresh?
15. How did they know?
16. Where did the trail go?
17. Did the men see smoke?
18. Which type of trees caught Blake's eyes?
19. What was the name of the village?
20. What time of day did they arrive?
1. three days
2. no
3. half an hour
4. Blake
5. Clarke's
6. Yes
7. two days
8. south
9. no
10. food
11. Harding
12. no
13. footsteps
14. yes
15. there was snow yesterday
16. near them
17. no
18. conical tepee
19. Stony village
20. daybreak