In Search of the Castaways Book One Chapter XXI - A False Trail

In which the explorers ascend the ancient Sierra Tandil and encounter Sergeant Manuel Ipharaguerre, a French-born Commander of Fort Independence, whose tales of Indian warfare and absent prisoners lead to a dispiriting revelation about their search’s direction. Despite earnest hopes, the company confronts the sobering truth that their quest may have pursued a mistaken path, compelling them to reconsider the elusive whereabouts of their sought companion.