The young man gently led him to a soft mound of turf, helped him to be seated, and followed his example.
"Now I am good for an hour. Let us chat."
"I am your most obedient servant to command."
"How is it, Mr. George Clinton," began the old man, with a sly look, "that three months ago I left you at Boston at the head of a large house of business, and that I now find you dressed like a runner of the woods, hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement, just ready to save my life."
"If my journey served me no other purpose, I am thankful—still I own there is another motive."
"I am glad to hear you say so. May I ask its nature?"
"Well, Master Samuel," began Clinton, "I am young, vigorous, and passionately fond of field sports; I am a good shot, and very much inclined for a free and independent life. Many times while at Boston chance brought me in contact with persons who have accomplished wonderful journeys into the almost unknown interior of our vast continent, and who brought back astounding accounts of what they saw; my curiosity was aroused, and I felt within myself a strong desire to attempt one of these expeditions in search of the unknown."
"Or the ideal," smiled the American.
"If you like it. As long as my father was alive I kept my ideas to myself, but as soon as my actions were quite free my old ideas were revived. An opportunity presented itself which I eagerly embraced. Confiding my house of business to a trustworthy partner, I started."
"You had a definite object, I suppose?"