CHAPTER VI

STALKING THE BUFFALO

ON the following day orders were given to prepare to start once more in the direction of the beckoning West. There was not much to be done, for, knowing that their departure would soon be ordered, the men had for some time past been getting things in readiness.

Dick and Roger had looked their few possessions over, and were ready to move on short notice. It gave the boys a little feeling of distress to realize that they would be thus placing additional ground between themselves and those dear ones left at home near the mouth of the Missouri.

"But we have embarked on the trip," said Dick, when his chum was speaking of this as something he did not like very much, "and must see it through now. When we do get back home again, if we are so fortunate, think of all the wonderful things we shall be able to describe."

The coming of Captain Lewis just then interrupted their confidential talk. Dick expected that their leader had something of importance to communicate, and he could give a pretty accurate guess concerning its nature.

Sure enough, the first words spoken by the President's private secretary explained the nature of his visit to the cabin of the Armstrong boys.

"I had an opportunity to examine your canoe, and there can be no reason to doubt that some unknown miscreant planned to have you lose your lives in the rapids. It was cleverly done, and at night-time doubtless, when no one would be apt to notice him working with your boat. The knife went in just deep enough to weaken the whole skin of the bottom, and only a slight blow was needed to finish the treacherous work."

"Of course you have not been able to place your hand on the guilty party, Captain, have you?" asked Roger, eagerly.

"Nothing has been found out so far," came the reply. "One of my reasons for joining you just now is to ask if either of you have any suspicions. Although of course we could not accuse any one on such grounds alone, at the same time it might narrow our search, and focus attention on the guilty one, so that he could be watched, and caught in the act."

"We do not feel able to say positively, Captain Lewis," said Dick, "but when we came to look over the entire membership of the company we finally figured it out that it must lie between three men. All the others seemed to be above suspicion in our eyes."

"Tell me who they are, so that I can have them watched," demanded the commander.

"There is, first of all, Drewyer, the Canadian scout. He never seemed to be very friendly with us, for some reason or other, though we have had no quarrel. You are surprised to hear me mention his name, because you have always trusted him fully. And the chances are, Captain, that Drewyer is as faithful as the needle to the pole. I only include him because we know so little about him."

"Who is the next one you have on your list?" asked Captain Lewis. "I count considerably on your natural sagacity to help in running this traitor to earth. You boys have learned pretty well how to judge men from their actions and looks, rather than from their fair speech. Tell me the other names, please, Dick."

"Fields is the second man. I base my right to include him in the group from the fact that there was a time when my cousin, here, and Fields had hot words over something the trapper had been doing in the village, and which Roger took him to task for. Since that time they have been on speaking terms, but I do not think Fields likes us over much."

"I should regret very much to learn that Fields had turned traitor, for I have in the past been ready to trust him to any extent," remarked Captain Lewis.

"The third and last man is Andrew Waller," continued Dick. "Now, we have never had a word with Andrew except in the best of ways. We have always looked on him as a loyal friend, and faithful to the trust you put in him. It has only been of late that both of us noticed that Andrew seems to try to avoid us, and when we do meet face to face he lets his eyes drop."

"That is indeed a suspicious fact," commented the other, quickly. "If money has tempted him to play the part of a traitor it is easy to understand how he cannot look you squarely in the eye. Conscience flays him every time he sees you near by. I shall certainly bear in mind what you have told me, and in due time results may spring from keeping a close watch on the movements of these three men."

With that Captain Lewis left the boys, but they felt sure he would not allow the matter to drop. The man whom President Jefferson had personally selected to manage this big enterprise, and who had been his own private secretary, was accustomed to getting results whenever he attempted anything.

It was on the following morning that camp was broken, and the expedition once more started forward--down the Yellowstone to the Missouri, and up that muddy stream again. That was an event of vast importance in the lives of those daring souls who were thus venturing to plunge deeper into the mysteries of the country that up to then had never known the imprint of a white man's foot.

Although filled with exultation, as were the rest of the travelers, Dick and his cousin looked back to see the last of the weird Mandan village which had long been a source of delight to their eyes. It was with considerable regret that they took their farewell view of the painted lodges, as well as the Indian cemetery on the side of the hill, where all those platforms, bearing their mummy-like burdens wrapped in buffalo hides, told of superstitions that were a part of the Mandan nature.

During that day they made considerable progress, and the first camp of the new trail was pitched on a ridge close to the river. Here the horses were put out to graze, and the boats drawn up on the shore, though a guard was constantly kept to insure against treachery.

Despite the apparent friendship shown by many of the Indian tribes they encountered on their long journey of thousands of miles, the two captains never fully put their trust in the red men. They believed them as a rule to be treacherous, and unable to resist pilfering if the opportunity offered. Especially was this true when the coveted object was a horse or a "stick that spat fire," as the wonderful "shooting-irons" of the explorers were generally called.

Several days passed with nothing to break the monotony of the journey. Of course they often met with minor difficulties, but these were speedily overcome by a display of that generalship which had so far made the trip a success.

All this while the boys had not forgotten about the spy in the camp. Without appearing to do so, they kept a watch upon the three men upon whom suspicion had fallen. Had any one of them offered to leave camp after nightfall, he would have been trailed by Dick and Roger, bent on learning what could be the object of his wandering, and whether he had an appointment with François Lascelles, the Indian trader.

But, as the days drifted along, and nothing happened, they began to cherish hopes that perhaps the accident to their canoe had been rather an act of vandalism and malice than part of a deep plan to bring about their death.

A week after leaving the winter camp the party found itself on the border of a wide plain. Dick and Roger were mounted and were on a slight elevation down which they expected to pass to the level ground near the river, and await the coming of the boats. From here they could see for a considerable distance around.

"Look at the herds of buffaloes feeding here and there, Dick!" exclaimed Roger, whose hunting instincts were easily aroused. "It strikes me we heard Captain Clark say the fresh meat was getting low again. What do you say to trying to knock over one or two of those fine fellows?"

"We would have to go a considerable distance to do it, then," the other told him, "and leave our horses in the bargain, because they are not used to approaching such fierce-looking animals as buffalo bulls."

"But we might be lucky enough to get one or two yearlings," persisted Roger, who dearly loved the excitement of the hunt, as well as the taste of the well-cooked meat when meal time came. "I think we could manage to load our animals down with the spoils, and easily reach the place where our friends mean to camp for the night."

Dick looked around him before replying to this tempting proposal. He remembered that they had need to use particular care while away from the main body of explorers; but so far as indications went he could not discover the slightest sign of danger. Certainly there was nothing to be feared from François Lascelles out there on that wide stretch of plains, where in various places they could see timid antelopes and clumsy buffaloes feeding amidst the isolated stands of timber which dotted the landscape.

"I see nothing to hinder our making the attempt, Roger," he finally remarked.

"Then you agree, do you, Dick?" eagerly demanded the other young explorer, as he caressed his gun, and cast a happy look over the panorama that was spread in front of them.

"Let's figure out just where our best chance lies, before we make a start," he was told. "We have to keep in mind that it's necessary to hide our mounts, so we can creep up on the herd close to some motte of timber."

The boys had more than once shot the great, shaggy animals that in those early days abounded in countless thousands on the prairies of the Far West. Their fathers had hunted buffaloes while on the trail from Virginia to the banks of the Ohio when boys no older than Dick and Roger. Hence they were familiar with the habits of the animals which they now meant to stalk.

Choosing their course so as to keep a patch of cottonwoods between themselves and the small herd they had picked out as their prey, the two boys urged their horses on at a smart pace. In several quarters they could see the swift-footed antelopes vanishing at a surprising pace, frightened by the approach of these strange animals, bearing riders on their backs, the like of which they possibly had never beheld before that day.

The buffaloes, however, were not so easily alarmed. Unless they saw an enemy for themselves, or scented something that caused them uneasiness, they were likely to hold their ground where they chanced to be feeding. (Note 5.)

Finally the boys decided it was no longer safe to take their horses with them. The animals were accordingly secured in a patch of timber, and the lads, still screened by the other motte, set forth on foot.

They had possibly a quarter of a mile to walk before reaching their intended shelter, from the other side of which they hoped to be able to fire upon some of the nearest of the herd. The old grass still lay on the ground, dead and brown; but shoots of the new spring crop had begun to thrust their heads up between. It was on this tender green stuff that the buffaloes were browsing, and, as it grew more freely in certain places, such a fact would account for their presence near the timber.

The one thing Dick and Roger had to be careful about was the chance of any straggler from the herd discovering them, and with a bellow giving the alarm. In order to avoid this if possible, Dick and his chum bent low as they advanced, and kept a wary lookout on either side of the timber.

The breeze blew from the trees toward them. This fact they had made sure of before starting, because, otherwise, such is the sense of smell in the buffaloes they would not have had the least chance of getting within shooting distance of the wary animals, who generally feed facing the wind.

When finally the boys arrived at the edge of the timber they believed everything was working as well as they could wish. As yet no sound had come to their ears that would indicate alarm on the part of their intended quarry; and Roger allowed himself to indulge in high hopes of a hunters' feast that night, with buffalo meat in plenty as the main dish.