It was a bustling scene that the boys looked on as they sat close to the fire, drying their clothes. How different things would be now, when they no longer had any reason to hide their fire. A force of twenty-one regular soldiers, as well as an equal number of young Kentuckians and frontiersmen, who acted as scouts and hunters, in order to supply fresh meat to the expedition, had little fear of the Indians. Besides, their boats were arranged to be of more or less value to them as places of refuge in case of an attack, one of them being covered over, and capable of serving as no mean fortress, from behind whose walls they could pour their fire into the lines of any attacking force. By the time a hot dinner had been cooked the boys were once more feeling comfortable, since their garments were all well dried. They sat down with the two comrades, as their especial guests, and it became apparent that Captain Lewis in particular had been much taken with both Dick and Roger. As they ate and talked Captain Lewis finally introduced the subject that had been puzzling him so long. "Would you mind telling us what caused you to take this daring journey, my lads?" he asked, with a kindly smile. "An enemy of our fathers," Dick went on to explain, "one François Lascelles, has managed in some way to secure a hold upon the property which was secured by our grandfather from the original French settlers above St. Louis, and threatens to take it away from them. His claim is undoubtedly a false one; but, unless we can secure the signature of a certain party to a paper we carry, it is certain that the entire valuable tract of land will be taken from our parents by spring, at the latest. Too late, it was learned that this man had agreed to join your force somewhere on the way. We started out after you had been gone for weeks; but, as we had good horses, and you had your boats to force up the river, we gradually came up on you, until now we have arrived." "Have you seen the one you are seeking among the men here?" asked the commander. "We do not know him by sight, but his name is Jasper Williams," replied Roger. The face of Captain Lewis clouded. "I am indeed sorry to hear that," he said; "because only two days ago I sent Jasper Williams, whom I count as my best scout, to go on ahead, and make friends with the Mandan Indians, whose hunting grounds we will be approaching in a few weeks, and with whom I may determine to remain all winter. So that you will have to keep on with us until we can come up on him once more!" CHAPTER XXV THE VILLAGE OF THE MANDANS "THAT'S a bitter disappointment, Captain Lewis," declared Dick, when he could speak clearly, after gulping down the lump that arose in his throat.