M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1858-05-20

knees and clssped her hands before her breast
The panther cronched for his deadly leap, but
ere he sPraDg, the hunting knife of Eugene
Fairfax (who,with the steersman was the on
ly person on deck besides Blanche) was buried
tothe hit in his side. inflicting severe but
not fatal wound. The infatuated beast al
once iumed upon Eugene, and deadly sting.
gle cnsued. But it was a short one. The
polished blade of the knife played back and
forth like lightning flashes, and at every
plunge 1t was buried 10 the hilt in the nan.
TIERS body who soon fell to the deck. d,sn
ging the dauntless Eugene with him. on
seeing her protectorfall, Blanche uttered an,
other shrek and rushed to his aid; but ass;s
lauce-ffom stouter arms was at hand 'Ths
boatmen gathered round, and tbe SAVAGE
monster was literally hacked n n;ecss VIII
their knives and hatchets and Fypene COW
cred with blood, was dragged from under his
carcass. Supposins him to- TO be dead or NOR. or
tally wounded, Blanche threw her arms
around his neck and gave way to passion.
ate burst of grief. But he was not dead--he
was not even hurt, with the exception of
few slight scratches. The blood with which
he was covered was the panther's, not his
own. But Blanche's embrace was his-a
priceless treasure-an index of her hearts
emotions and affections. twas to color his
whole future life, as will be seen in the pro-
gress Of our story. .a..''rg
Slowly and silently, save the occasional
creak, dip and splash Of the steersman's s oar,
the boat Of our voyagers was borne along
upon the bosom of the current, on the third
tight of the voyage The hour was waxing
late, and Eugene, the only one astir except
the watch, was suddenly startled by rough
hand being placed upon his shoulder, accom-.
panied by the words. in the griff voice Of the
boatman r'--'
'Fsay, Cap'n, here 8 trouble t o."
What isit, Dick?' inquired Eugene, start.
ing to his feet. ''riS' '.H
Don't you see thar's heavy fog rising,
that'll soon kiver us up so thick that we
won't be able to tell a white man from
nigger7' replied the boatman-Dick Winter
BY name-7a tall, bony, muscular, athletic
specimen of hisclass. ''1t ''
Good heavens so there isl exclaimed
Eugene, looking offupoD the already misty
waters. 1t must have gathered very sud
denly, for all was clear minute ago. w hat
is to be done now? This is something | was
not prepared for, on such night as this
sit looks troublous, Cap'n, lll allow, re-
turned Dick; but we're in fort, that's sar-
tin, and spose We'll have to make the best
ont
But what is to be done 7--what do you
advise 2 asked Eugene, in aquick, excited
tone, that indicated some degteeTof aarm.
itWhy, eff you waTn't SO skeered about the
young lad ya and it warn I SO dead agin the
orders ffbIn bssd 46aSters. my plan wo'd be
a cl'ar and easy one--I'd just run over to
the Kaintuck shore and tie up.'is s1a ... .s..
NO, no, said Eugene; positively; that
will never do, Dick that will llneyer Io
would not think Of such thing for mo.
ment!N We must keep in the current by all
means !'D.s .aH I1 a.rgc11iI ..H
you can,' rejoined the boatman; 'but
when it gifts so dark as we can't tell one
thing from tother, it'll be powerful hard tc
do; and efwe don't run agn abar or bank
afore morning, in spite Of the best o. us, it'll
be the luekiest go that ever had a hand in
See, Cap'nl-it's thickening up fast; we can I
see eyther bank at all, nor the water ny ther;
the stars is gittin' dim, and il looks as if thar
war clohd. all round u.s. .r.rf Y.f..rr.
Il see see! returned Eugene, ,excitedly,
8 Mercilul Heaven! / hope no accident will
befall us here-7and yetmy heart almost mis-.
gives me for this, | believe, is the most
dangerous part Of our journey--the vicinity
where most Of our boats have been captured
by the sayages. l' iol moi. .ra,, s-a "a SD.
Saying this, Eugene FASTENED below, where
he found the other bOatmen sleeping 50 sound
Iy as to require considerable effort, ON his part
to wake them. At !ast, getting them fairly
reused, he informed them, almost in whis-
per, for he did not care to disturb the Others,
that heavy fog had suddenly arisen, and ne
wished their presence on deck, immediately
'i,"A fog, Cap'n ?" exclaimed one, in tone
which indicated that he comprehended the
peril with the word. ...-,
Hush returned Eugene; 'thereis no ne.
cessity for waking the others, ard having a
scene. up! and follow ME, without a
word ! .-----s---
He glided back to the deck, and was al.
most Immediately joined BY the boatmen, to
whomhe briefly made known his hopes and
fears. '5tr ~.
They thought, like their companion, that
the boat would be safest if made fast to an
everhanging limb on the Kentucky shores but
frankly admitted that this could not now be
done without difficulty and danger, and that
there was a possibility Of keeping the cur
rent. ~" '',' '-
Then make that possibility certainty,
and it shall be the best nights work you ey-
er performed 2 rejoined Eugene, in quick,
excited tone. .a ..,a s...raj t.,kr.-,f
well do the best we can. Cap'n, was the
response; but no man can be sartin OF the
current Of this here crooked stream in fog
gy night E.5-'a'ai iq gaato ha&
ia long silence followed-the yoyagers
slowly drifting down through misty dark
ness impenetrable to the eye-when, sudden
ly, our young commander, who was standing
near the bow, felt the extended branch ofan
overhanging limb silently brush his face. He
started, with an exclamation of alarm, and
atthe same moment the boatman on the right
called out. 40 gal T1l VIaHs1 ewerti
o Quick, here. boys we're agin the shore,
as sure as death T. 49,, -... i4, rro ~
Then followed scene Of hurried and anx-
ious confusion, the voices Of the three boat
men mingling together in loud, quick, exci;-
ed tones. f00fgiaI 1.9ij ~ ViIrgu
Push off the bow = cried one. s,a
Quick !! altogether, nov over with her!'
shouted another. Z ~
The de'il's in it! she's running aground
here on mud bottom' almost yelled a
third- !. ~ - -. a-.L.--- - A------