A shout that might have been heard far away attested the deep interest soldiers and frontiersmen had taken in the rescue. Every man came crowding up to squeeze the hands of the two lads, and declare that he was proud to welcome them to the ranks of the expedition. After all these weary weeks of battling with the current of the great river, and meeting every imaginable kind of danger and difficulty, it was like a breath from home to thus come upon two valiant young fellows, away up here in the land of the fighting Sioux. It seemed almost incredible to think of mere boys capable of accomplishing such a task. No wonder both Captain Lewis and Captain Clark, his capable fellow commander, were pleased to welcome Dick and Roger. "It seems to me I have seen you both before," remarked the former. "It must have been in the settlement of St. Louis, while we were arranging the details of our long trip, and waiting for some of the men to arrive." "Yes," replied Dick, "it was there, and you met our fathers, the Armstrong brothers, sons of old David Armstrong, who came from Virginia, settled on the Ohio, and finally made his way down the river to the Mississippi, acting under the advice of Daniel Boone, who was his life-long friend." "Now I remember you," responded Captain Lewis. "Which one of you caught my runaway horse before he got fairly started? It was a quick action; and I believe I thanked whoever it was on the spot, and shook hands with the lad." "That was Roger, here, Captain Lewis!" declared Dick quickly, only too glad of the opportunity to bring his cousin into the light. "But both of you are shivering with the cold, after getting wet," remarked the soldier captain, William Clark. "See, some of my men have started fires, for we intend to cook our noonday meal at this spot. Go over there and keep warm, while some of us dry your garments. This has been the happiest event of the whole trip. Only it was a little unwise for you to camp on that island, when a storm threatened. The Missouri is a freakish stream, and you have to watch it closely, or it will catch you napping some time." "That was all my fault, Captain," admitted Roger, frankly. "I am wild for fishing, and begged my cousin to cross over and camp there, so that I could watch my lines close to our little cooking fire. And while he gave in to me, I could see that it was really against his better judgment. But we were the luckiest fellows going to get out of the trap so easily. And we are happy to know that, after our long chase, we have caught up with you at last." Neither of the boys had as yet ventured to say anything regarding the nature of their mission. That would come later, when they found a better opportunity to chat with the genial leaders. And the advice given by the soldier was worth following, because, of a truth, they were both shivering with the coolness of the air after the storm, since the few garments they had on were thoroughly soaked.