t a short time, said farewell to him, with little of the regret
she would otherwise have felt, and a few hours later the party were
steaming rapidly up the 'Mad Missouri.'

Nothing worthy of notice occurred on the passage, and they reached
Independence in safety. They secured a landing somewhat above the
town, on the western side, where they had little fear of disturbance.

Here the extraordinary foresight and skill of the boy was manifest,
for, despite the immense size of the steam man, it was so put together
that they were able to load it upon the wagon, and the two, without
any other assistance, were able to drag it out upon the prairie.

'You see, it may break down entirely,' remarked young Brainerd, 'and
then we can load it on the wagon and drag it along.'

'That must be a powerful strong wagon to carry such a big baby in if,
as that.'

'So it is; it will hold five times the weight without being hurt in
the least.'

It was early in the forenoon when they drew It out upon the prairie in
this manner, and began putting it together. It certainly had a
grotesque and fearful look when it was stripped of all its bandages,
and stood before them in all its naked majesty.

It had been so securely and carefully put away, that it was found
uninjured in the least. The trapper could not avoid laughing when the
boy clambered as nimbly up its shoulder as another Gulliver, and made
a minute examination of every portion of the machinery.

While thus employed, Baldy took the shafts of the wagon, and trotted
to a farm-house, which he descried in the distance, where he loaded it
down with wood and filled the tank with water. By the time he
returned, Johnny had everything in readiness, and they immediately
began 'firing up.'

In this they bore quite a resemblance to the modern steam fire
engines, acquiring a head of steam with remarkable quickness. As the
boy had never yet given the man such an opportunity to stretch his
legs as he was now about to do, he watched its motions with
considerable anxiety.

Everything was secured in the most careful manner, a goodly quantity
of fuel piled on, the boiler filled with water, and they patiently
waited the generation of a sufficient head of steam.

'Is it all good prairie land in that direction?' inquired the boy,
pointing to the West.

'Thar's all yer kin want.'

'Then we'll start. Look out!'

Despite the warning thus kindly given, the steam man started with a
sudden jerk, tha