He came up and placed a half playful hand on Meriwether Lewis's shoulder.
"Did I know men, then?" he demanded.
"And did I, Mr. Jefferson? Captain Clark----"
"You do not say the title correctly! It is not Captain Clark, it is not Captain Lewis, that stand before me now. You are to have sixteen hundred acres of land, each of you. You, my son, will be Governor Lewis of the new Territory of Louisiana; and your friend is not Captain Clark but General Clark, agent of all the Indian tribes of the West!"
In silence the hand of each of the young men went out to the President. Then their own eyes met, and their hands. They were not to be separated after all--they were to work together yonder in St. Louis!
"Governor--General--I welcome you back! You will come back to your old rooms here in my family, Merne, and we will find a place for your friend. What we have here is at the service of both of you. You are the guests of the nation!"