Page:Lost with Lieutenant Pike (1919).djvu/231

 "I've been looking for you men," he greeted. "You passed us, somehow."

"Yes, sir," Freegift admitted. "An' we've been lookin' for you, too, sir. We didn't know whether you were before or behind."

"And begging your pardon, sir, we're mighty glad to see you," added Terry. "Are the men all behind, the same as yourself, sir?"

"Part of them." The lieutenant spoke crisply. "The doctor and Brown are still ahead, I think. I haven't laid eyes on them. You three were next. The rest of the party is split. From the prairie back yonder I detached Baroney and two men to take the horses out, unpacked, and find a road for them. We have lost several animals by falls upon the rocks, and the others were unable to travel farther by river. The remaining eight men are coming on, two by two, each pair with a loaded sledge. I have preceded them, hoping to overtake you. The command is pretty well scattered out, but doing the best it can." His tired eyes scanned Stub. "How are you, my brave lad?"

"All right, sir. But my name's Jack Pursley, now. That knock I got made me remember."

"What!"

"You see, sir," Freegift explained in haste, and rather as if apologizing for Stub's answer, "when