St. George Rathborne

“ Dick replied.
“If the man is a traitor, and really tried to take our lives for pay, it seems to me it would be a shame if he were only drummed out of camp for such things. I know what Captain Clark would do if it rested in his hands.”
“Yes, and I can guess the answer there, too, Roger; because he is a soldier, with stern ideas of what treachery means. But Captain Lewis has a tender heart, for all he can be so firm. He is very fond of the men who have clung to his fortunes in this great journey into the unknown country of the West.” ”

“ Every day counts in the spelling of success; a delay here might ruin all their plans.”
Roger nodded his head, as though he grasped the idea.
“Yes, I can see what you mean, Dick,” he admitted, slowly and regretfully, “and I guess you are right. Much as Captain Lewis himself might want to lay over and send a party of his men out in search of us, his duty binds him the other way. He will have to go on, and leave us to our fate.” ”

“ It cost him dearly to indulge in any such proud boast. The two-legged creature that was crawling up the face of the rocks possessed a reach far in excess of any mountain lion or panther that ever tried to make a meal of a tender ewe—that stick he carried could bridge a chasm when it spat out flame and smoke, and carry death in its wake.
Dick was getting impatient for something to happen. If Roger had learned that it was useless for him to try to get a shot, he should be coming back by now, and not taking any chances. ”

“ Every evening, when the sun was setting in a maze of glowing colors, Dick and Roger were accustomed to stand and watch until the last fiery finger had finally faded from the skies. To them that mysterious West held out beckoning arms. They never tired of talking about the fresh wonders they might gaze upon once they started into the trackless wilds ”

“ The predicament of the boys was not at all to their liking. Without a bullet in their guns, and with a maddened bull bearing down upon them at full speed, unless they made a rapid retreat to the timber they were in danger of being gored and trampled by the horns and hoofs of the beast.
“Run for the trees, Roger!” shouted Dick, as he himself turned and made for the timber. ”

“ There’s the champion fisher for you, Roger. If that bird could only talk he could tell you all about the habits of these wary salmon that so far you haven’t succeeded in catching.”
“There he goes!” cried Roger, excitedly. “Oh! what a splash he made! And, Dick, look at him trying to get up again! It’s all he can do to rise, beating his wings like a crazy thing. See the fish the fellow has fastened his claws on, Dick. There goes a salmon, I do believe, the very first we’ve seen!”
The big fish hawk was indeed having a hard battle trying to fly with such a large fish in its talons. ”

“ Who’d ever believe such a little knock against a rock would have burst the tough skin of our hide boat?”
“Yes, and a perfectly smooth rock at that,” added Roger, as though he knew this to a certainty, and it added to the mystery in his eyes. “I believed these boats were tough enough to stand ten times that amount of pounding. I believe after all I prefer our old style of dugout.”
“Yes, they may be clumsy, but you can depend on them all the time; and after this I think I’ll be suspicious about a hide boat,” Dick continued. ”

“ Dick had explained to Roger when the other was expressing these ideas, “comes from the melting snows away up in those mountains whose tops we sometimes think we can see far, far away to the west. That is why it is so clear and cold, and the fish we catch now are not like the ones we have often brought in to our mothers at home.”
“The beautiful one, with the specks that were all the colors of the rainbow, must have been some kind of trout,” Roger continued, his face lighting up eagerly, for he was a born angler, “and I only hope we are able to catch many more of the same kind. ”

“ And, Dick, surely they will try to follow our captors, and effect our rescue.”
“Listen, Roger. We must not leave it all to them. These cunning red men know how to cover a trail so that the keenest eye cannot find a trace. Depend on it, they will leave no stone unturned to hide the tracks we make. And then, besides, do we not know that the summer is already beginning to wane?”
“Yes, yes, all that is only too true, Dick. Captain Lewis understands there is no time to spare, with those terrible mountains yet to be scaled, and also black deserts to cross, and all before snow flies. ”

“ The beast was staring hard at them. It did not move, or offer to attack them, but, just as the wolf had done, it bared its teeth.
The boys were not looking for trouble with a brute of this type just then. Food alone held their thoughts and governed their movements. On that account Dick did a very wise thing when, drawing his companion aside, he made a little detour.
The boys crept as softly as though born spies. Hardly a leaf fluttered as they moved along, and certainly no stick cracked under their weight, for these lads had long ago learned all that woodcraft could teach them. ”

“ No sooner was supper set before them than Roger turned a beaming face toward Dick, as he voiced his feelings of delight.
“You see, they didn’t make way with those fish after all, Dick, because they were not found until late in the evening. So they just cleaned and salted them down, and we’re to have the greatest treat you ever tasted to-night. It sometimes pays to wait patiently for things to come along,” and, seeing Dick smiling, he winked knowingly, after which he bustled off to watch the process by means of which the fish were to be prepared for the coming meal. ”

“ The time has at last arrived when we must say good-bye to our pioneer friends, the Armstrongs. You will remember how we have followed their adventurous careers down the Ohio, along the Mississippi, then up the great Missouri to the wonder country of the Yellowstone; and now, between the covers of the present volume, are narrated the concluding incidents in the story of “Westward Ho!”
Our country is deeply indebted to the class of pioneers typified by the Armstrong boys. Restless spirits many of them were, always yearning for richer lands where game would be more plentiful. ”

“ But all of us will be glad to rest for a while in the Nez Perces village.”
“Yes,” added Roger. “And, moreover, we hope they will be free with their food, because our stock has by this time got down to nearly nothing. For once I think I could enjoy some Indian cooking.”
“Even if it has to be a feast of baked dog!” added Dick, at which the other made a grimace, though he immediately replied:
“Yes, even that, if the rest of you try it. I don’t hold myself to be any better than my comrades, and what they can stand I ought to. Perhaps, who knows, all of us may yet take a great liking for the dish. ”

“ The days passed almost too quickly for even Roger, impatient as he was to set eyes on the goal of their hopes.
And, just as had been anticipated, the fame of Dick as a “big medicine” spread through all the skin lodges of the tribe. People even came from other settlements to consult the “wonder boy,” who could chase the evil spirits out of a suffering body by simply sending down a pill to wrestle with the monster.
Dick had his hands full, much to the amusement of his cousin. ”

“ The falls of the Columbia must be at hand, where they would be compelled to make a portage with the canoes and their cargoes.
Roger would have liked to strike out and be the first to get within seeing distance of this natural wonder, but Dick curbed his impatience.
“Better hold back and keep near the rest,” he advised. “We none of us know anything about the falls, and from the Indians we’ve heard they are very dangerous. They even claim that a bad spirit is chained under the water, and always ready to overturn the canoe of any venturesome brave who ventures too near.” ”

“ Do you mean the Sioux chief wants us to tell Captain Lewis it will be all his life is worth to keep heading into the land of the West, now that spring has come?”
“I was thinking only of ourselves when I said that, Roger.”
“And that the warning would be for our benefit, you mean? But, Dick! how could Beaver Tail, so far away from here, know of any danger that hung over our heads?”
“Let us examine the bark message, and perhaps we shall learn something that may explain the mystery. The first thing we see is what looks to be a man facing the sun that is half hidden by the horizon.” ”

“ The ties that drew them all, men and boys, to the East were many and strong. Their hearts often swelled with emotion as they thought of those from whom they had been separated so many months.
“Why,” Roger was accustomed to saying, when he and his chum discussed the time of their departure, now close at hand, “I feel sure I will never know my little sister, Mary, when I see her again; she must be such a big girl by now. And as for your brother, Sam, you may find him able to give you a good tussle in a wrestle.” ”

“ Bob and Sandy Armstrong, together with their sturdy sons, Dick and Roger, are but types of the settlers who opened up the rich territory of the Mississippi Valley, as well as the Great West. Their kind is not so numerous now, at least in our own country, since the need for such adventurous souls has become less acute. In many places, however, like the Canadian Northwest, they can still be met with, forging the links that will bind the wilderness to civilization. ”

“ The old fellow seemed to understand his business as acknowledged guardian of the herd. He moved hither and thither, and, every once in so often, stopped to look around him, as though in search of signs of trouble.
Then he would shake his great head, give a proud snort of conscious power, strike at the ground several times with one of his forefeet, and finally go on with his feeding. ”

“ As time crept past Dick wondered how his cousin was progressing. Surely, by now, he must have been able to get within easy range of the unsuspicious sheep, and could pick out his quarry, if he really meant to shoot. A good deal would depend on whether Roger believed he could retrieve his game in case he shot it. If the poor beast had to lie on the little, grass-covered, slanting plateau Dick did not believe his chum would waste a load, merely for the sake of killing. ”

“ Can you make it out, Dick?”
“The only thing I can think of,” Dick replied, “is that word has been sent out everywhere that the ‘paleface people’ in the hide canoes are under the protection of Manitou, and that no harm must be done to them.”
“Well,” observed Roger, with a happy smile, “if we’re going to be guarded by the Indian Manitou all winter, we needn’t be afraid of anything. When you come to think of it, Dick, that [327] landslide was the greatest thing that ever happened to us. It held back just long enough to let us pass, and then swallowed our enemies up.” ”

“ And that is what happened.”
“It would have gone much harder with us if we had not been most of the way down the descent,” said Roger, with a frown on his face. “But, Dick, who could the treacherous rascal be? As far as we know, we have not made a single enemy among the members of the party. Would one of our Indian friends have played such a mean trick on us, do you think?”
“No one but an enemy could have done it, Roger, because there was nothing to gain; for while some Indians might envy us our rifles these would surely be lost with us in the rapids and never recovered.” ”

“ They would have their long night vigil for nothing, and be no nearer to learning the truth than before. Roger lacked the patience and perseverance of his chum, though he had many good qualities of his own.
It must have been almost midnight when Dick caught sight of a shadowy figure moving just beyond the supply tent. At first he thought it might be a wolf that had boldly crept into the camp, though such a thing seemed absurd; then he became satisfied that it must be a man on his hands and knees, crawling along slowly, and heading for the isolated tent. ”

“ Why, Dick, we can read the story as easily as any sign in the woods we ever tackled.”
“Then comes another scene,” continued Dick, “where the creeper has evidently sprung with uplifted knife, upon his intended prey, taken unawares. After that, we can see him crawling away, and there are two figures lying stretched out on the ground close to the now dead fire. That needs no explanation, Roger; François Lascelles seeks our lives, because we baffled him in his scheme to win a fortune at the expense of our folks at home!” ”

“ Dick fancied that he looked very eager, as though he quite enjoyed the idea of accompanying the pair on their fishing trip, and making himself useful. Perhaps, the boy thought, the poor fellow wished to attach himself to the expedition, on account of the charm it had for his untutored mind; for Indians could feel the desire for adventure such as urged these bold white men to penetrate farther day by day into the unknown country. ”

“ Dick and Roger did their full share in everything that went on. Much of the meat that was dried that winter, in order to provide a supply on the return trip over the mountains and down the Missouri, fell before their guns.
They were also instrumental in helping to tan some of the skins to be used in making necessary clothing for the men. Having been almost two years on the trail, some of the members of the expedition were sadly in need of garments; and this well-tanned buckskin supplied the deficiency admirably, for in those pioneer days every man was his own tailor. ”

“ Dick told Roger that night, while they sat near the fire, the camp being well guarded every minute of the time, “we ought to reach our destination by the end of the second day, perhaps sooner.”
“Which means we will be able to look out into the west and see nothing but the vast ocean,” Roger added, with a contented sigh. “Well, I feel glad—yes, doubly glad, for Captain Lewis and Captain Clark.”
“I understand why you say that, Roger. To us it means only that our curiosity will be satisfied; but think what they have risked to carry out the plan of the President! ”