ourishing his
musket.

"Perhaps!" returned the Lieutenant, looking about at us with a shrewd
smile. "If it comes to that, they will not find us backward. But do not
count too much on hostilities. We are here, not to fight, but to explore
the limits of the Territory."

"But, sir, should we fall in with the Spaniards?" ventured Meek.

"Should we meet a Spanish party, we may be invited to go in with them to
Santa Fe. It would serve our purpose no little to be the guests of the
Spanish authorities. Enough. Fall in! By to-morrow night we should be
encamped at the foot of that grand peak."

He wheeled his horse about, and rode off again in front. I hastened to
join him, my thought intent upon a surmise drawn from his last speech.
When we had ridden ahead beyond earshot of the others, I put my thought
into words.

"Montgomery," I said, "you have other orders from General Wilkinson than
those given out. It is not I alone whose instructions are to attempt
communications with the Spaniards."

"And if your guess is right?" he asked.

"God forbid!" I cried.

"What! I see no cause for dismay in the simple fact that I am to further
your efforts to obtain information. I and the party will be in much less
danger from the Spanish authorities than yourself, John.

"It is not that," I muttered.

"What, then? I declare, John, there are times when I cannot bear the
thought of your venturing in among the Spaniards alone. It is now my
resolve to march into Santa Fe with you."

"No, no!" I protested. "You must not--cannot!"

"Cannot? Do you think I fear the danger?"

"Of death, no; but of dishonor."

"Dishonor! Should the Spanish dare--"

"No, not the Spaniards--not that. But our own people."

"Explain!" he demanded.

I opened my mouth to accuse his General--and paused. After all, what
proof had I of Wilkinson's connivance in the plans of Colonel Burr? What
proof had I that even Burr's plans were treasonable? I should have been
an outright imbecile to have entertained the slightest doubt of the
zealous loyalty and patriotism of my friend,--and Wilkinson was his
General and his patron. Why poison his mind against one who had shown
him great favors and was in a position as Commander-in-Chief to show him
even greater favors? We could not now hope to return to the Mississippi
settlements for several months. Why fill my friend's mind with anxieties
over plots and projects which might never develop, or which, even if
_not_ sti