Lieutenant Fremont had been disappointed in obtaining the guide he had expected.

Upon learning this fact, Mr.Carson retired to a secluded part of the boat, sat down, and for some time seemed lost in reverie.

Then rising and approaching Lieutenant Fremont he modestly said to him, "Sir, I have been for some time in the mountains, and think I can guide you to any point there you may wish to reach." The office of a guide, through thousands of miles of untroden wilderness, was a very responsible position.

Mr.Carson was an entire stranger to Lieutenant Fremont.

But there was something in his bearing which inspired confidence.