Jaspar Hobson and others set to work, carefully examining every trace, every object left behind, every mark on the ground; but in vain, there was nothing to guide them to a decided opinion. The bones of some animals scattered about told them nothing, and the Lieutenant, much annoyed, was about to abandon the useless search, when he heard an exclamation from Mrs Joliffe, who had wandered a little way to the left.
All hurried towards the young Canadian, who remained fixed to the spot, looking attentively at the ground before her.
“You are looking for traces, Lieutenant; well, here are some.”
And Mrs Joliffe pointed to a good many footprints clearly visible in the firm clay.
These might reveal something; for the feet of the Indians and Esquimaux, as well as their boots, are totally different from each other.
But what chiefly struck Lieutenant Hobson was the strange arrangement of these impressions. They were evidently made by a human foot, a shod foot; but, strange to say, the ball alone appeared to have touched the ground! The marks were very numerous, close together, often crossing one another, but confined to a very small circle.
Jaspar Hobson called the attention of the rest of the party to this singular circumstance.
“These were not made by a person walking,” he said.
“Nor by a person jumping,” added Mrs Barnett; “for there is no mark of a heel.”
“No,” said Mrs Joliffe; “these footprints were left by a dancer.”
She was right, as further examination proved. They were the marks left by a dancer, and a dancer engaged in some light and graceful exercise, for they were neither clumsy nor deep.
But who could the light-hearted individual be who had been impelled to dance in this sprightly fashion some degrees above the Arctic Circle?
“It was certainly not an Esquimaux,” said the Lieutenant.
“No, it was a Frenchman,” said Sergeant Long quietly.
And all agreed that none but a Frenchman could have been capable of dancing on such a spot.
CHAPTER XII. THE MIDNIGHT SUN. Sergeant Long’s assertion must appear to have been founded on insufficient evidence. That there had been dancing no one could deny, but that the dancer was a Frenchman, however probable, could not be considered proved.
However, the Lieutenant shared the opinion of his subordinate, which did not appear too positive to any of the party, who all agreed in feeling sure that some travellers, with at least one compatriot of Vestris amongst them, had recently encamped on this spot.