Evening star., 1924-02-20

this! There Is not any other month
| or week. or day but this! 1t is not for
| you or me to. hesitate-within the
hour l shall go on. Well cross over,
| or wen leave the bones Of every
| man oa the expedition here-this year
| Clark's norid face fiushel under the
| sting Of his comrades words: but his
| response was manful and just.
You are right" said he at length
moment seemed to question the
possibility of going forward. Give
| me a night. to sleep. As said, ] am
worn out. II ever i sec Mr. Jeffer-
son again. shall tell him that all the
! credit for this expedition rests with
you. shall say that once I wav-
| cred, and that I had no cause. You
| do not waver-yet 1 know what ex-
| cuse you would have for It,"
| "Yor are only weary, VIII. 1t is my
| turn noW," said Meriwether Lewis
and he never told his friend OF iis
| last letter.
A moment later he had called one
1 Of his men.
"McNeal." said he. get Reuben
Fields. Whitehouse and Goodrich.
the mountains!"
The four men shortly appeared. but
they were silent, morose. moody
Those who were to remain in the
| CdHp shared tnGIr SIleHcc.
alone smiled as they departed.
THAT way" said she, pointing: and
she knew that her chief would find
| the path.
May We not wonder,,in these later
days. If any Of US, who reap so care
| lessly and so selfishly where others
| have piowed and sown. reflect as we
| should upon the first cost of what we
cali our own? The fifteen million
| dollars paid for the vast empire
which these men were explcring-that
! was little-that was naught. But ah
the cost in blood and toll and weari-
I, ness, in love and loyalty and faith
| In daring and suffering and heart.
| break of those who went ahead! Il
| was a few brave leaders who fur
nished the stark. unflinching cour,
| age for US all.
| Sergeant Ordway, with Pryor and
| Gass, met in one of the many littlS
| ominous groups that now began y
form among the men in camp. Capt
| Clark was sleeping, exhausted.
| 1T stands to reason" said OrdWay
usually so silent, "that the way across
/ the range is up one valley to the di-
| vide and down the next creek on the
| opposite side. That Is the way ",
! crossed the Alleghenies.'
| sure" said he. and all the gam
| southwest. Follow the elk"
| rs It so?' exclaimed Pstrici s !
Gass. ''You think it aisy to find
dye know jist how the Alleghenie,
was crossed first? Did they make II
| the first tonne they thried? Things Is
| aisy enough after they've been done
| wanst-but it's the first tonne tina
| counts"
"There is no other way, Pat
| ar1ued Ordway. "'Tis the rivers thn'
| make passes in any mountain range
Which Is the roight river. the
/! re ejoined Gass. We're lookin' for wan
that mebbe is nowhere near here.
| Spose we go to the top yonder anc
take a creek down. and s'pose that
creek don't run the roight way at
! all. but comes out thousand niles
to the sou outhwest-Where are you
| then, I'd like to know" The throuble
! with us is we're the first vans to
| cross here, and not comm along after
/ some one else has done the thrtcs
| for u.s."
Pryor was willing to argue further
| "All the Injuns have said the big
! river was over there somewhere"
| 'Somewhere'!" exclaimed Patrick
Gass. Somewhere is mighty long
ways when we're lost and hungry"
(which is just what We are now
| reioined Pryor. 1.-The sooner we star,
back the quicker We'll be out of this
| Pryor" The square face Of the
Irishman hardened at IONS, once; Listen aeG
| friend. but I warn ye not to say
that agin, If ye said 1t where he
| could hear ye-that man ahead-do
! YOU know what he would do to you? -
| II amt particular. 'Tis time We
| took this thing into our own hands.
ITS where we're takin' 1t nov
/ Pryor. said Gass ominously. "A
coort-martial has set for less than
| that ye've said!"
| "Mebbe you couldn't call one-I
| don't know"
! "Mebbe we couldn't, eh? / mind me
| Of little settlement I had with that
man wanst-no coort-martial at al
| me not enlisted at the tonne, and
not responsible under the arthicles Of
| war. / said to his face I was of the
| belief I could lick him. I said it
| kindly. and meant no harm, because
| at the time 1t seemed to me I could
] and 'twould be a pleasure to me. But