Hawkeye and his group reach the northern shores of Lake George, where they abandon their canoe and travel by foot. They are searching for Magua's trail. Since they are in the mountains, Hawkeye and his Mohawk friends know that there are only so many ways for people to travel in this region. They must find valleys or other passage ways, possibly along streams and rivers, rather than climb up and down the steep slopes of the mountains. So far, they have found no recognizable footprints.

After walking for a long time, Hawkeye is embarrassed to admit that he might have missed signs that would have signaled which of the valleys Magua might have taken. Although Hawkeye knows that Uncas is a better path finder than he is, Uncas is not allowed, according to his Indian tradition and in honor of his father's age, to say anything until given permission by Chingackgook. As soon as his father acknowledges him, Uncas searches for marks that will signal that Magua has gone in a certain direction. 

It does not take Uncas long to find a trail to follow. He has detected familiar footprints. One of the footprints is that of someone wearing Indian moccasins, but Uncas can tell by the impression on the ground that whoever is walking in those Indian slippers is not an Indian. Not only that, Uncas remembers having seen this type of print before and is almost sure the print belongs to David Gamut, the singing teacher.

This excites the men, and their attitude is uplifted as they follow the pass through the mountains. When they come to a stream, again they lose the trail and again Uncas is able to find footprints, this time hidden under leaves along the edge of the stream. They also find women's footprints, assuring them that they are on the right path.

As they continue, Hawkeye and the Indians become more alert. There is a smell in the air that tells them that they are coming closer to an encampment. They split up, each going a different way. They tell one another to call out using the sound of a crow if they discover anything.

Heyward is by himself when he sees something in the distance. He perceives that he is looking at an Indian village built on the edges of a lake. As Heyward stares at the strangely built structures, the figure of a man with a painted face appears close enough to touch. Heyward is afraid to make the warning call as the Indian is standing too close to him. So Heyward remains silent, merely observing the man.

Suddenly, Heyward feels a hand on his shoulder and jerks around to see Hawkeye. Heyward points at the distant Indian village, which makes Hawkeye laugh (very silently) because what Heyward is looking at are beaver lodges.

Hawkeye leaves Heyward's side, slips around behind the Indian who is standing in front of them, and is about to jump him, when Hawkeye stops. Instead of assaulting the Indian, Hawkeye only taps him on the shoulder. Hawkeye has recognized the man, in spite of the painted face. It is David Gamut.