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."