white, sure enough. That comes pretty close to home-*folks, Merne. I know some Kerrs there, myself."
"But the question is, what are we to do with him?" reminded Captain Lewis, sharply. "We can't cumber ourselves with useless baggage, and we can't start out by stealing children from the Indians."
"No; and yet it sort of goes against the grain to let the Indians keep any children they've stolen," argued Captain Clark.
"Yes, I agree with you there, Will," answered Captain Lewis. "But the President instructed us to make friends with all the tribes. We could have shown the Otoes they were wrong, and could have offered to buy the boy or have made them promise to send him to St. Louis if we couldn't send him ourselves. This looks like bad faith."
"Shall we stop and put him ashore, Merne?"
"If we put you ashore will you go back to We-ah-rush-hah?" queried the Long Knife Chief, of Peter.
Peter had not comprehended all that had been said, but he had listened anxiously—and now he did understand that they were talking of putting him off.
"No!" he exclaimed. "No go back to We-ah-rush-hah. 'Maha catch me; Sioux catch me; Oto whip me. No Indian; white." And he added: "I follow boat."
"If you give the order, Merne, we'll stop and send him back with an escort," teased Captain Clark, who knew very well that Captain Lewis would do no such
