CHAPTER IV

BAD NEWS

"I'M afraid you are right, Roger," Dick replied, as the two pioneer boys hastened to be among the first to meet the rider when he came jogging into camp.

That something had, indeed, happened was easy to see from the dejected manner of the messenger. His face bore a deeply chagrined look, as though there was some reason for his feeling ashamed.

He had evidently pushed his horse hard all day, for the animal was worn out, and reeking with sweat, despite the fact that there was a decided chill in the air.

The man dropped wearily from his hard saddle. He came very near falling, for, after sitting in that constrained attitude for many hours, his lower limbs were benumbed, so that for a brief time he did not have the full use of them.

By this time Captain Lewis had heard the clamor, and come out of his tent to ascertain what had happened.

Possibly he may have supposed that it was only a visit from some of the Mandans on an errand connected with their now friendly association with the whites. Then again, the commander may have wondered whether one of the hunting parties had arrived with some unusual species of game, such as none of the explorers had ever seen before.

When, after striding forward to join the crowd, he saw the dusty messenger, a frown came upon his ordinarily pleasant face. Captain Lewis knew that something must have gone amiss, or the man who, with two companions, had started over the back trail several days before would not have returned to camp in this way.

"What does this mean, Mayhew?" he demanded, as he came up, the others parting to allow a free passage, though naturally the two boys stuck to their posts, because they had an especial interest in whatever story the returned messenger might be about to relate.

"Something has happened, Captain Lewis, I'm sorry to tell you, and not at all to my credit," replied the man, trying to calm himself, though it was evident that he was laboring under great stress of emotion.

"Were you attacked on the way?" asked the President's private secretary, who had been entrusted with most of the responsibility of the excursion, and therefore felt more keenly than any one else the possibility of failure.

He had taken great pains to keep a daily account of the trip up to that point, and this diary he had sent to the head of the Government in the care of the three men, one of whom now stood before him with dejected mien.

"We believed we had taken all ordinary precautions, Captain," the messenger continued, making a brave effort to confess his fault as became a man; "but, in the darkness of the night, they crept upon us without any one being the wiser. My horse gave the alarm with a whinny, and, as I awoke, it was to find that the camp had been invaded by several enemies."

"Could you not see whether they were Indians or otherwise?" asked the commander, as though a sudden suspicion had flashed through his brain.

"It was very dark, and our eyes were not of much use, sir," the messenger told him in reply. "We purposely refrained from building anything but a small cooking fire, and that was in a hole so its light might not betray us to any wandering Indians. But they were not red men who attacked us; of that I am assured."

"Why are you so certain of that?" inquired Captain Lewis.

"We were all struggling with the intruders, who had evidently thrown themselves upon us just as my horse gave the warning whinny," the messenger explained. "I am positive that my hands did not clutch the greased body of a redskin, when I tried to throw him. Clothes he certainly wore, such as all frontiersmen do. I could feel the deerskin tunic, with its fringed edges. Besides, I tore a handful of his beard out in my struggles."

"No more proof is needed!" declared Captain Lewis. "They must have been some of the French half-breeds. But go on, Mayhew, have you other distressing news for us? What of your two companions; I hope they did not meet their fate there in the darkness?"

At that the man's face lighted up a trifle. He had told the worst, and the rest would come easier now.

"Oh, no, indeed, sir, none of us were badly injured, strange as it might appear," he hurriedly explained. "Bruised we certainly were, and greatly puzzled at both the attack and its sudden ending, that left us still alive; but we were at least thankful it had been no worse!"

"And then what did you do?" continued the leader of the expedition.

"We stood guard with our guns ready the remainder of the night, sir, but we were not again disturbed. It was toward morning that I made a sudden discovery, which is what has brought me back to the camp to report, while my two companions kept on with your documents intended for the President."

Captain Lewis drew a deep sigh of relief. That was the first intimation he had received that his precious communications had been saved.

"Then explain why you have returned, if the papers were saved!" he demanded, as though puzzled.

"You forget, sir, that I was entrusted with another paper, which you ordered me to personally hand to the grandfather of the two boys who joined us."

When Mayhew said this, Dick and Roger knew that a new trouble had descended upon their heads. He must have lost the paper in some manner and yet neither of the lads was able to understand how it could have happened.

"Do you mean to say the paper they set such store on is missing?" Captain Lewis demanded.

"I had it securely hidden in a pocket inside my tunic, Captain," replied the humbled messenger; "but, when I came to look for it, it could not be found. When morning came we spent a full hour scouring the vicinity, but it was useless. And there had not been a breath of wind to carry a paper away. It must have been taken from me while I was struggling with that unknown man."

"This is indeed a strange story you bring back with you, Mayhew," continued the leader of the expedition, looking keenly at the other, who met his inquiring glance as bravely as he could. "Stop and consider, did you hear anything said that might give the slightest clue concerning the identity of the thieves?"

"But one word, sir, and that was a name," came the ready answer. "The man with whom I was grappling, as we rolled over and over on the ground, suddenly let out a loud cry. I plainly heard him say the one word 'Alexis!' And then he suddenly threw me aside, for he was very powerful."

"And did the fighting cease immediately?" asked Captain Lewis, quickly.

"Yes, sir, the others seemed to take that word as a signal, for the next thing I knew my companions were calling out to ascertain whether I had been seriously hurt. I found that they also had been bruised, and one had a knife wound in the arm, but not of a serious nature."

The captain turned toward Dick and Roger.

"You have heard what Mayhew says, my boys," he remarked. "Does it afford you any sort of clue as to the meaning of this mysterious attack in the dark, and the seizure of the paper you were sending home?"

"I am afraid it does, Captain," Dick replied.

"You recognize the name, then, do you?"

"It is that of the grown son of François Lascelles," replied Dick; "the rascally French trader who has bought up the claim against our parents' holdings down near the settlement of St. Louis."

"Then it is possible that they followed you all the way up here, and, having obtained the assistance of some equally desperate border characters, laid a cunning plot whereby they meant to win by foul means, where fair could not succeed! What puzzles me most of all is how they could know that Mayhew carried the paper. I should dislike very much to believe we had a traitor in our little camp!"

The captain looked around at the assembled men with a serious expression on his face, which caused some uneasiness among the soldiers, frontiersmen and voyageurs who made up the expedition. They had always shown themselves loyal to their commanders and, when the finger of suspicion pointed their way, all felt the disgrace keenly.

Mayhew it was who came to their relief.

"I could never believe, sir, that any one here could be so treacherous," he hastened to say, as though anxious to take the entire burden of responsibility on his own broad shoulders, in which he proved himself to be at least a man. "I have been seriously thinking it over as I rode all day long, and believe I can see how it may have been known that I carried the boys' packet."

"Then explain it, Mayhew; for I must confess that the whole thing is a great puzzle to me," Captain Lewis told him.

"When they saw us depart they knew, of course, that you would be sending a report of the progress of the expedition to the Government at Washington, sir. They must have also surmised that the boys would have influenced Jasper Williams to sign the paper that would free their homes, and that one of us must be carrying it to St. Louis. Do you not think that is reasonable, Captain?"

"Yes, but tell me how they could have picked _you_ out as the one bearing it?" asked the other, impatiently.

"The only explanation I can give is that they must have been in hiding near us at the time we camped," continued Mayhew. "I remember taking the packet out, so as to fasten it in my pocket anew, since it was not as secure as I desired. I believe some one was watching from the bushes near by, and saw me do it. Then, while we struggled there on the ground, he managed to tear open my tunic, and, while half-choking me, snatched the paper away."

"And giving a prearranged signal at the same time to tell of his success," remarked the captain, this time nodding his head in the affirmative, as though he had come around to the same way of thinking as Mayhew.

"The fighting ceased as if by magic," declared the messenger. "One minute all of us were struggling as for our lives; then that cry rang out, and immediately we found ourselves deserted. We heard retreating footsteps, a harsh laugh, and shortly afterwards the distant hoofstrokes of horses being ridden rapidly away."

"And you slept no more, but stood on guard, not knowing but that the unseen and mysterious foes might return to finish their work?" suggested Captain Lewis.

"It was well on toward morning at the time, sir, for we had slept. I think they took a lesson from the redskins, who always make it a point to attack a camp just before the coming of dawn. They believe that men sleep heavier then than earlier in the night."

"You talked it over with the other men after the paper was missed, did you," continued the commander, "and decided that, while they continued on their long journey, it was your duty to return and report your loss?"

"I was broken-hearted over it, sir; but it was my duty. If I have been neglectful, I must stand the consequences. But we saw nothing suspicious, and did not dream of danger until it burst so suddenly upon us."

"I shall say nothing about that until I have consulted with Captain Clark, who, you know, is the military leader of the expedition. Have your horse rubbed down, and secure food and refreshment for yourself, Mayhew. I must talk with these boys now."