A GRAND PALAVER
"OH! Dick, my boy, we could not let you go from us in that way!"
Of course Dick had expected that his mother would say something like
this; but he looked more to his father for the consent that would
mean so much. The very thought was staggering to those loving hearts;
but in those days boys of fifteen and sixteen were so accustomed to
thinking and doing for themselves that they were fully trusted by their
elders. And, besides, mothers had been brought up in the hard school
of experience, thus learning early in life to look upon danger as an
ever-present thing.
If his father could be brought to see the desperate undertaking in the
right light, Dick knew that the victory was as good as won; for the
former would be able to convince the good wife and mother that it was,
after all, a reasonable conclusion, as well as the sole hope of saving
their imperiled homes.
Bob Armstrong shook his head, even while his eyes grew dim as they
rested on Dick's eager face.
"God knows, your mother and I understand and appreciate the motive that
prompts you to say that, my boy," he said; "but we could not accept
the sacrifice that it would mean. If there is no other way to save our
farms, then they must go, and we will have to take up some new land,
and start in afresh."
"But, father, why should you feel that way?" the lad went on to say.
"Can you not trust me in the woods? Have I ever failed to take every
precaution, and up to now has anything serious ever happened to me?"
"No, it is not that, son," replied Bob; "a man could not wish to have
a better boy than you have always been, and I wager you know more
woodcraft right now than either your Uncle Sandy or myself had in our
heads at your age. But it would not be right for us to stay comfortably
at home here, while our sons were meeting with all manner of perils off
in that unknown country."
Dick smiled on hearing that. He believed that, if there was no stronger
argument against the venture, his case was already as good as won.
And, having thought it all out, he now proceeded to knock away the
props from under the structure founded by his father.
"Please look back, father, to your own boyhood days," he said, soberly.
"How many times have you sat there, and told us of how you and Uncle
Sandy started out by yourselves on the trail of that young Iroquois
chief who carried Aunt Kate away. Yes, you followed him clear to the
Great Lakes, to the country that was teeming with enemies. And, in
spite of every peril, you and my uncle, with only the help of that old
trapper Pat O'Mara, since gone to the Happy Hunting Grounds, and the
friendly Indian, Blue Jacket, did rescue Aunt Kate, and even saved the
life of Pontiac, who afterwards gave you the magic wampum belt that
has kept us from harm all these years. Father, what I am saying is all
true, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, every word of it, my son; but, then, the conditions were
different at that time," replied the other, hastily. "Our sister had
been carried off, my father was far away on the road to Virginia on
important business, and there was no one else to go in search of Kate,
so brother Sandy and myself _had_ to start out."
"Ah! yes, but you went willingly, eagerly, I know, father, just as we
feel like doing now," the boy went on.
"But the life and happiness of our only sister was at stake, Dick," the
father said, and yet in a half hesitating way, as though the argument
of the boy was already beginning to have its effect.
"Well, the future happiness of _three_ families is at stake now,
father. And if in those days you and Uncle Sandy could face the perils
of the wilderness, and win out, why should not Roger and I do the same
now? All we would have to do would be to follow up the course of the
river, week after week, until we caught the expedition; and then keep
on with them until Jasper Williams joined them, as he expects to do by
the time they reach the Mandan country. After that, having secured his
signature to the paper, we could bring it back to you. Why, what could
be easier than that? And think of all it means to us, father!"
"Yes, yes, I understand, Dick, and Heaven knows I feel like giving my
consent. But it is no light matter, to be settled off-hand in a minute.
I have your mother's feelings to consider. She would be loath to see
you leave us, and plunge into that unknown country that lies toward
the setting sun."
"But, father, I have heard you say many times that you often had a
longing yourself to go there, and if you were not the head of a family
the temptation might have been more than you could stand. Yes, and
Uncle Sandy echoed your words, and looked forlorn for a whole day, as
though he had to light with the desire to once more become a pioneer,
and explore new countries."
Bob Armstrong smiled, and glanced toward his wife, who shook her head,
not trusting herself to speech. But Dick felt encouraged, and believed
he had made great progress toward gaining the consent of both parents.
There remained one trump card to play--Grandfather Armstrong, who
always sympathized with his grandsons in their ambitions, and who would
be apt to look back to those days when he, as a father, trusted his
own sons in every undertaking that could happen in the lives of young
pioneers along the Ohio and the Mississippi.
"By now, Uncle Sandy and Roger must be over at Grandfather Armstrong's
cabin; and I promised that we would meet them there for a talk. You
will not object to hearing what he has to say, father, I hope?" Dick
went on.
"I can see what the result will be if Grandfather takes a hand in it,"
remarked Bob, with a shrug of his shoulders; "but then, it seems to be
a case of 'old men for council; young men for war,' and we surely ought
to listen to what he has to say of the project, after he has heard both
sides."
The younger boy, Sam, who had been listening to all this amazing talk
with eagerness, now broke in with:
"But I can shoot a rifle as well as Dick, and know lots about trailing,
and all those things Pat O'Mara used to teach me before he died; why
must I stay at home if Dick goes, father?"
"That would never do!" declared Dick, immediately. "Mother could not
stand the absence of both her boys at the same time. Who would do the
hunting and fishing then, while father worked the farm? Where would
the meat come from, Sam? No; if I go, you must take my place, and show
what you can do. Besides, while you are strong for your years, a boy
of twelve could hardly expect to keep up with those who are so much
older. Oh! no, it would not do at all."
Sam was inclined to protest, but he saw his mother's grieved face; and
something there seemed to give his heart a wrench. Perhaps it was the
thought of being separated from her by hundreds of miles of wilderness,
never, perhaps, to see her again in this life; for, after all, Sam was
only a very young boy, and he had not been tried so severely as his
father and uncle in their early days.
"Oh, well, I suppose I'll have to stay home, and take your place, Dick;
but some fine day I mean to see that Golden West for myself, remember
that," he said, and, somehow, his taking it for granted that the
parents' consent was sure to be given to his brother's daring project
did more to hasten the decision than anything that had as yet occurred.
"Come," remarked Bob, "let us all go to Grandfather Armstrong's, and
talk it over. I want to see what Sandy thinks, before I make up my
mind;" but Dick knew from his father's manner that already he had been
partly won over.
So they all trooped out, and were soon entering the central cabin.
David Armstrong was now getting quite old. Thirty years had passed
since he came down the Ohio on a flatboat, seeking a new home in the
wilderness; and his hair was as white as the snows that came with each
succeeding winter. He was not able to do much manual labor himself,
but hired help to look after his extensive holdings, that already had
increased ten times in value, and would be worth a fortune later on, if
they could only manage to retain possession of them.
Evidently the old man and his wife had been told of the bold
proposition which Dick and Roger had made, for his dimmed eyes rested
fondly on his other grandson as Dick entered the big cabin.
David loved these boys even as he had his own sons. He had watched
their growth into young manhood, and in every way fostered their good
traits. And, knowing what they were capable of doing, if any one was
able to decide whether they could be entrusted with such a dangerous
mission it should be Grandfather Armstrong.
Sandy was almost as sturdy a man as his brother Bob, and his wife was
a fine helpmeet for a pioneer. There was none her equal in all that
region when it came to putting up sweets for the long winter season and
in carrying out the numerous responsibilities that a housewife in those
times had to take upon her shoulders.
But just now Phoebe Armstrong seemed dumb with the dread that had
seized her, after hearing what an undertaking her only boy proposed
embarking upon.
Aunt Kate, too, was there, a buxom young woman, who had helped to
mother all the children of her two brothers as they came along; and now
took upon herself many of the duties that were proving too arduous for
her mother, not so strong as in the years long gone by. And the last
member of the group was little Mary, Sandy's daughter, a winsome child
of seven, with flaxen hair, and eyes rivaling the blue skies and who,
as already mentioned, had been named after Grandmother Armstrong.
And then the grand "powwow," as Roger called it, began, the boys
stating their case, and begging hard to be allowed to carry out the
plan they had set their hearts on. Both fathers also entered into the
discussion, but the mothers only listened, rather white of face, but
evidently willing that such an important matter should be settled by
the heads of the houses.
All the while Grandfather Armstrong sat there, smoking his long pipe,
and listening to what was said. And after all had been argued, fathers
and boys seemed to turn toward the old man for a decision.
Removing his pipe, David Armstrong looked around at the row of eager as
well as anxious faces, and, speaking slowly, delivered himself of his
decision.
"I think," he said, very solemnly, "that these brave boys should be
allowed to show what they are made of, and try to save for their
parents the homes we have planted here in this beautiful spot. And so,
let them make the venture!"