Scouting with Kit Carson

the north and soon was hidden from sight among the foothills. He might have gone with him, although the man had not been cordial in his suggestion, but the chief barrier was that

go somewhere, and now he did not even know what fate had overtaken Jean Badeau. As yet no suspicion had occurred to him that any serious

t party, but the same opposition greeted him which years before had been faced by Kit Carson himself. The men were afraid that he was not sufficiently strong to

irely alone. His own thought had been that if Reuben should accompany him, at least

trapper, but also because he was compelled to choose between being bound out to some of the

degree of kindness by his older brother, but his brother's wife objected to his remaining longer a member of the household. She now had six children of her own to care for, and the addition of another dependent h

. There were visions held out before him of the great wealth that was to be obtained by trapping, and the adventures which Jean graphically described with many gestures also had their own appeal for Reuben. He w

liable, and a few other belongings were collected. A pony was provided by Jean, and when he set forth from Pain

as been said, Reuben was by no means convinced that Jean was lost. He was inclined to believe that Jean had left him, either expecting to return or that the boy would

not far away made the only sound he could hear. Above him in the sunlight towered the summits of the lofty mountains. Tr

ngry. It was necessary for him to obtain something to eat, although he was uncertain where

was a doe leading her fawn to the brook for a drink. Reuben, who had been seated motionless, had not been discovered by the t

supper sent d

ce of a child. Already he had raised his rifle to his shoulder, but for some reason he did not shoot. The sudden loosening of a stone by his foot produced a sound which made the two animals look quickly in his direction, and instantly he was aware that he had been discovered. Fo

He was aware that there were occasional pools in the little stream, and as he glanced into one he had a momentary vision of a fish darting under the shadow of th

alf-dozen stones had been placed in the narrow neck of water Reuben cut a good sized club, and, going up the stream a short distance, stepped into the water. As he advanced he shouted and struck the water and was positive that several times he saw fish d

club he was carrying, and watched it as it fell on the ground several feet away from the stream. If there was one fish in the water, he concluded there must be others, and quick

ning to the spot where he had left his belongings, he at once made them ready for cooking. Afterward he

the fish, but also indicate to Jean, who could not be far away, the presence of his camp. On the other hand, the Indians he recently

s of his flint and tinder he soon started a roaring blaze. He had made a rude little fireplace by piling some of the stones

king is seldom permitted to enjoy. It is true all the salt which he and Jean had brought had

d to himself, to let Jean do the searching. He seated himself upon the ground, leaning back against the trunk of a huge tree, and as he listened to the music of th

uld be glad to feast upon a young trapper for supper, just as he himself had feasted upon the trout he had taken from the mountain stream. Aroused by the suggestion, Reuben started to his feet and made a tour of his camp. Although he walked one hundred yards in every direction, he was una

ss returned Reuben was aware that he had been awakened by