It may appear strange that none of us should have had any inkling of the truth, but, as to Percy and me, how were we to guess that the great river upon whose left bank we had landed when coming from the east should have any connection with a stream upon whose left bank, again, we found ourselves when coming from the south-west? We did not take into account the immense bend that the Missouri makes before it enters upon its southerly course.
Even Jack, with his greater knowledge and his far greater experience, was deceived by the ease with which we had traversed the pass. He did, indeed, express some surprise at finding so large a stream on the other side, and wondered if, and how, it found its way into the lake we had just left, but he was as far as ourselves from suspecting that he had crossed the main range.
“Well,” said he, as we stopped to let the horses drink, “I’m rather puzzled which way to go: up, down, or across this stream. The country to the right looks most promising for a gold-hunter, but we shall be getting a pretty long way from the settlements in Montana if we go in that direction; besides which Tracker Jim told us that we must bear to the left after passing the lake. What do you think about it?”
“We have a fair supply of flour and sugar left,” said Percy; “so, as far as provisions are concerned, there is no need of going near any settlement at present. I should be inclined to say ‘up.’”
“So should I,” was my contribution to the debate. “The country in front of us does not look very promising, and as gold-hunting is the main object of this excursion I think we should go where we are most likely to find it,—which seems to me to be up-stream; so I say ‘up’ too.”
“Suppose we go into camp at once,” said Jack. “And then we can talk it over after supper. Here’s a pretty good place for camp, now, in the shelter of this clump of pines.”
As we rode round the end of the group of trees in order to get upon its leeward side, I caught sight at a great distance of a long string of animals walking in procession across the valley.
“Jack!” I cried. “Look! What are those?”
Jack’s glass was out in an instant.
“Elk,” said he. “A whole band of them. There must be fifty. Tom, will you make camp by yourself? Percy and I will go after them at once.”