CHAPTER VI

BAD NEWS

"HAVE you come to tell me what they have decided, Dick?" asked Roger, on the following afternoon, when his cousin overtook him on the river bank, where he had gone to work halfheartedly on a new dugout which the boys were fashioning from an especially fine log selected by Bob himself.

"Yes, father just came in to tell me that he and Uncle Sandy had finally determined that, since we were so set upon trying to save the farms, they could not stand in the way," replied the other, who was almost out of breath.

Roger threw his hat high in the air, and his face broke out in a smile, as he let a whoop escape him that would have done credit to some Pottawatomie brave, eager to go upon the warpath.

"That's the best news you could have brought me, Dick!" he exclaimed. "And how you fooled me with your long face. My heart seemed to drop away down in my moccasins, because I was afraid they had said 'no.' But I had a heap of faith in Grandfather Armstrong, and he was with us from the beginning. When can we start, Dick? Oh, the hours will drag like lead till we are off! Not that I won't suffer because of leaving mother and father and all the rest; but it means so much to everybody. And, Dick, do you think we will succeed? Can we overtake Captain Lewis, after he's had so long a start? And will Jasper Williams be there to sign that paper?"

His cousin laughed at the flood of eager questions.

"One at a time, Roger," he remarked, holding the other at arms' length. "They will not think of letting us off under two days, because our mothers will want to get so many things ready for us to take. But what does a little delay matter, when we know that we are going to take the great trip? Think of how every boy in the settlement will envy us, and wish he could go along. But this is too serious a business to think of taking any company with us. They would not have anything at stake, and might feel like backing down when troubles came, while we do not mean to let anything hold us back."

Roger turned, and looked toward the west. That was always the "unknown country" to the American pioneer, even when the first of them climbed the Alleghanies, and from their tops saw the sun sink behind the forests beyond. It held mysteries that the eyes of white men had as yet never rested upon. Could there be a more enticing prospect to lure adventurous lads forward than this piercing of the wilderness, day after day, moving ever onward toward the distant shore of the Pacific, of which they had heard such great stories, handed down from the lips of those who had perhaps gazed upon the western sea in the East Indies; or it might be from the narrow isthmus down where the waves of the Caribbean Sea washed the shores of the Spanish Main.

It was a beautiful day. Fleecy white clouds dotted the blue sky. Here a white-headed eagle soared round and round in great circles, sailing ever upward toward the sun. Far out upon the water a fish-hawk or osprey was hovering with winnowing wing, preparatory to darting down to clutch some unlucky fish in its talons; after which, possibly, the "lord of the air" might attack the hawk, and force a surrender of the finny prey, after the manner of all eagles, even to this day.

It was a pleasure to breathe the fresh air, and be thankful that one lived. Add to this the realization that a dream was about to come true, such as no boy had ever dared indulge before, and the feelings of Roger Armstrong can be partly understood.

No wonder his boyish face shone with happiness. True, there would be tearful partings from those he loved; but then, his heart was staunch, and he knew he could stand that. And the wonderful mission that beckoned them forward, was not that enough to pay for any trouble and suffering they might meet?

"How do you suppose they will say we ought to follow the expedition, Dick?" he finally found tongue to ask, at the same time casting a dubious look in the direction of the dugout upon which he had been working.

Seeing that look, Dick burst out laughing.

"Well, if it depended on our paddling that heavy craft hundreds and hundreds of miles up the swift current of the Missouri, making a carry every now and then, perhaps, and going ashore every night to camp, I don't think we'd ever come up with those French Canadian voyageurs who handle the three boats Captain Lewis has with him. You remember how we followed them all one morning when they passed here, and how badly we felt after they had disappeared around the big bend above. And it seems almost too good to be true to think that we are going after them, perhaps to be in their company a long time."

"But answer my question, please, Dick; if not by boat, then how shall we overtake the expedition, which must be a hundred or more miles away by now?"

"There is only one way, Roger. Our fathers have decided that we shall start out with horses, one each to ride, and another for a pack animal, to carry some of the things we may want on the long journey. I did not think we would need these last; but I said nothing, for it pleases our mothers to think that we may carry plenty of good things along. But between us, Roger, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we had to abandon our packhorses before we've been a week on the trail, and trust to the fleetness of our own animals' heels to keep ourselves from being made prisoners by some of the Indian tribes whose country we have to pass through."

Even this dismal prophecy did not appear to affect the impulsive Roger. Indeed, his eyes sparkled more than ever, as though he rather enjoyed the prospect of being thrown on his own resources. It was going to be a fine opportunity to learn the value of those secrets of woodcraft which he had picked up from time to time.

From the early days of history, the prospect of adventure has appealed to all boys with red blood in their veins. Only for that eagerness, shown by the early pioneers, to pit themselves against the perils of the wilderness, how would our frontier line have been extended, year after year, until it finally broke over the mighty Rockies, and reached the western sea?

"But two whole days," Roger muttered, "they will seem ever so long to me, Dick. I wish it could be to-morrow."

"Oh! but there is plenty to be done, for all of us," replied the more thoughtful lad; "I'll see to it that you have no idle minutes on your hands from this time out. To begin with, Roger, pick up your tools, and bring them to the house. All work on this boat must be put off until our return, unless Sam chooses, with the help of Grandfather, to finish it, which I rather think will be the case."

They turned their back upon the river, but it would be in their minds always. Indeed, they must expect to follow its erratic course over plains and through valleys, heading into the northwest continually, until in due time they might hope to overtake those who had gone before, with horses, and boats, and all manner of stores, intended to placate, it might be, the hostile and suspicious tribes that had never before set eyes on a white man.

Yes, those were busy hours with every one. Even Sam felt that he must do what little he could. The hunting could wait until after his brother had said his last good-by, and ridden away into the west--time enough for all that; but just now he wanted to see all he could of Dick, who had never seemed half so dear as when he was about to go away.

Sad hours they were for the parents of both lads, though they endeavored to conceal it. The mothers shed their tears in secret, not wishing to display any weakness. Now that the matter had been settled they were like the staunch Roman mothers of old, who could with dry eyes send their sons forth to battle, keeping all display of womanly weakness for their own rooms.

The horses that were to be taken had been selected, and every detail of saddles and bridles looked after before the first full day had gone. Bob and Sandy Armstrong saw to these things themselves. Their former experience in the forest was of great value in this emergency, for they knew just what ought to be taken by their sons, from extra flints in order to ensure fire, and for the rifles, to blankets needed on the nights when perhaps they would be exposed to chilling winds and storms, far up in a mountainous country.

By the time the next day was over, the preparations had gone on so well that the boys had gained the consent of their parents to making the start at noon of the following day, which would give them several hours' gain on the original plan of campaign.

Charts or plans of the country there were none, for no whites had penetrated more than a hundred miles or so to the westward. It was believed that many different tribes of Indians lived along the upper Missouri, for from time to time venturesome trappers had met roving bands and picked up a certain amount of information concerning the fierce Sioux, the Blackfeet, the Mandans, and other nations that warred against each other, and seemed to hold certain sections of the country as their hunting grounds, ready to fight any trespassers, be they red or white.

Roger had gone down to the settlement of St. Louis to carry out some errand entrusted to him, and on his return it was seen that the boy looked very much excited, as though he might have heard news that concerned the mission he and his cousin had agreed to carry out.

The others were gathered at the cabin of Grandfather Armstrong, examining something which the old man had brought out, and which he wished the boys to take along with them on their trip.

So Roger came hurrying up, and his excited manner immediately drew the attention of everybody. The first thing that struck Bob Armstrong was that bad news might have been received concerning the expedition of Captain Lewis; for there had been many dismal prophecies uttered that they would fall before an overwhelming attack of hostile Indians before they had been a month on the way, or reached anywhere near the falls of the river at the place where Atchison, Kansas, now stands.

"Tell us the worst, son!" demanded Sandy, as Roger reached the group. "Is it any evil that has befallen our good friend, Captain Lewis, and his gallant command?"

"No, not that, father," replied the boy; "but, would you believe it? that Frenchman, François Lascelles, has been in St. Louis with his son; and, learning of our mission, they have already started, bent on finding Williams before we can, and fixing it so that all our work will be useless!"