“If the man is a traitor, and really tried to take our lives for pay, it seems to me it would be a shame if he were only drummed out of camp for such things. I know what Captain Clark would do if it rested in his hands.”
“Yes, and I can guess the answer there, too, Roger; because he is a soldier, with stern ideas of what treachery means. But Captain Lewis has a tender heart, for all he can be so firm. He is very fond of the men who have clung to his fortunes in this great journey into the unknown country of the West.”
“Do you really mean to say, Dick, he would forgive the rascal on that account?” demanded Roger, with a frown of displeasure on his face.
“Not exactly that,” hastily replied the other lad. “I am sure that he would not want to trust such a man again, but, at the same time, Captain Lewis would not believe it necessary to have the traitor shot, as a soldier would.”
“In that case there would be only one other thing to do,” observed Roger, disconsolately; “which would be to kick him out of camp, and warn him, just as he did Lascelles, that if he ever allowed himself to be seen near the camp again it would be at his peril.”
“Mark my words, Roger, if we are lucky enough to catch the man in the act, that is what will happen to him. But, before he goes, he will listen to a ringing talk from Captain Lewis that will make his cheeks burn.”
“Yes, and not for all the money Lascelles ever owned would I want to have such a fine man as Captain Lewis tell me that, as a traitor to my trust, I had sunk down until I was beneath contempt. But I wonder, Dick, how he will manage to let them know about the rifles and ammunition in the supply tent?”
“Depend on it the captain has that arranged cleverly enough,” Dick declared, “and he will accomplish it without awakening any suspicion that it has been done for a purpose.”
“What shall we do next?” asked Roger.
“Wait for his signal as arranged with us,” explained Dick. “When we get that, it is our duty to slip out of camp without being noticed, and settle down in that patch of brush, just as he said. Later on, he will join us there, and bring Captain Clark with him.”