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 XX

CAPTAIN LEWIS MEETS THE ENEMY

The party seemed to be overhauling the cache here as if in a great hurry to go on; but the captain waved greeting, and Joe Fields straightened up, to grin.

"Yez got back mighty quick," accused Pat. "Didn't yez go? An' where are the hosses?"

"Sure we went," retorted Joe. "Hosses? We've turned 'em loose, of course; and you'll be turnin' yours loose, too, in a minute. So tumble off and I'll help you unpack. There's no time to waste. You ought to've been along, Pat. We had a beautiful brush with the Injuns."

"Didn't I tell yez?" reminded Pat. "Annywan hurt?"

"None of us. We wiped two of them out, though—and a ball cut the captain's ha'r. 'Twas this way," continued Joe, as he tugged at a rope end, to release the pack of meat: "On the fust day, 'fore we'd gone more 'n twenty mile from the falls, we struck Injun sign in shape of a wounded-buffler trail; and after that we kept guard all night, for fear of our hosses. When we got to the Maria's we turned down, after scoutin' 'round a bit. Found a lot of old Injun lodges, but didn't see any Injuns till the 26th. Then the cap'n sighted a bunch o' hosses, thirty of 'em, through his