"There is nothing a redskin hates so much as to be wrong, and he would rather wait, for weeks, to make sure of a thing, than run the risk of making a mistake.

I don't suppose he takes us for whites.

He expects we belong to some other tribe, come in as spies." "Then what are you thinking of doing ?" James asked.
"We will go on a bit further," Nat said, "in hopes of coming across some stream, where we may hide our trail.

If we can't find that, we will sit down, before long, and eat as if we was careless and in no hurry." For a time, they walked on in silence.
"Do you think they are close to us ?" James asked, presently.
"Not far away," the scout said carelessly.

"So long as they see we ain't hurrying, they will go easy.