The National tribune., 1897-08-26

Inc lHDle. we V0tC oo'"thN"' 'Ns 49,
hunger was so much STRONGER than our
sense of shame that we cou not leave III,
and if we had not been in a hurry, we
would have waited for her to have prepared
ano, her meal for us.
She said she regretted that she had not
more cooked to set before Us, bntwe told
her she had been very kind and banked
them at the same time bidding tn III good
night, when we started off, as they supposed,
for he ferry A short time afterward we
were in our boat pulling down stream with
more vigorous energy than we had before.
We kept up steady stroke of the paddles
for some hours feeling that each stioke
placed so much more distance between us
and the prison.
AN ACCIDENT.
While we were thus moving along with
steady, cautious stroke, high in TIE hopes OF
the future, ] suddenly, quicker than a flash.
found myself lying fiat on my bIck i'll the
river. What on earth had happened did
not know, the accident had been so sudc en-.
/ thought of earthquakes, whales, shaiks,
torpedoes and many other things Luckily,
one of my feet caught on the aide of the
boat, and drifted with it until Mark came
to my assistance and pulled me out. The
wire, which was stretched across the river,
and hung just low enough to catch me
fairly as ! sat in the stern of the boat 1t
struck Mark, but he sat in the middle and
fell into the bottom of the boat. We were
going at good speed, and the collision
came SO suddenly, that it is wonder we
did not fare worse. Fortunately, there
were no guards at the ferry, so we had no
cause to apprehend discovery or poestation.
My greatest mishap was thorough wet
ting, for the night was frosty and cold and
caused me to chill.
This was followed in the after part of the
night by stupor that / could not shake
off, and my continued efforts at the paddle
had we'll nigh exhausted me. Mark could
not manage the boat very well, as he had
tried it a number of times. But felt that
must have rest and sleep, and so gave the
boat over into his hands, enj0inlDg him to
keep it in the current.
/ lay down in the bottom of the boat,
and soon sank into a state of forgettulness
and sleep. / do not know how long had
slept, but, sometime in the night, Mark
aroused me, and told me we could go no
farther, as we had come {" to the end of the
river" 1t was some time before he could
awaken me fully to consciousness, SO that
could comprehend our situation.
At last | began to look around to deter
mine what Marks end of the river" meant.
/ soon discovered that lie had run the boat
away under ledge of the mountain, and a
dim light could only be seen in one direc-
ton. All else around US was impenetrable
darkness. / took the paddle and worked
the boat in the direction of the light, and in
little while we emerged from beneath his
overhanging mountain ledge, and again
reached The current Of the river, down which
the boat was soon rapidly gliding. Mark
now discovered that the END Of the river
had not yet been reached, but he did not
care to take charge of the boat again.
MYSTERIOUS FOLLOWER.
/ have omitted to mention matter, I'M
important to my story, although it shows
how suspicious fellow may become when
he imagines that every strange sound he
hears may proceed from lurking, pursuing
enemy Nearly the whole time, from the
place where we began our boat journey, we
seemed to be followed.
At Irregular intervals through the night
we would hear noise in the water, always
about the same distance behind US, which
sounded precisely if large Stone had
suddenly fallen from great hight into the
river. The noise never came much nearer,
and never varied but little in distance, and
always seemed to be just behind us. We
were wholly unable to account for it, and
we were thus somewhat vexed because we
could not solve the mystery.
Finally one evening, as we starred into
the current from our hding-place, and while
it was yet quite light, we saw a goOd-slzed
animal swimming not far from us, and pretty
soon it plunged under the water, making
the identical mysterious noise we had heard.
1t followed, at least it seemed to be the same
one, in our wake until we reached the rapids
of the river above Columbus, alter whic we
heard it no more. To this day have not
the remotest idea as to what kind OF creature
it was.
Shortly after this adventure, we perceived
that we were not to have as smooth sailing
all the way. The river began to grow
rough, and the water ran over benches and
lodges of rocks and, in places, with great
velocity. 30 mnoh 20 that we narrowly