Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-19
Dosvn the mississippi

il was used in board being made fast to the
hawser about twenty feet from the stern.
In this manner some of the heavy strain
was taken, from the spars, and the tiat-boat
rested safely between the two points OF re
sistance.
81 reckon that it'll take right smart lot
of work to get her OUT said Jethro, as the
the best thing we can do is to turn In Till
morning. She's all right now, an we can
trust her to stay where she is"
eve can't back her out into the river.
that's certain, no matter how long we work,
replied Jim, rather despondently.
"No; we've got to go around the bend
now," was Jethro's slow answer. ,dti
take us a matter of three days longer'n it
would to go through the cutoff, an there
WON'T be any chance for tradin'. It's no use 1s,;
cryin' over it, cause it can't be helped. ltn
be a good thing for True an Bent cause
they'll find prime huntin' back in here:
eve shall have to make the best of it, |
suppose" said Jim, with as much cheerful
ness as he could muster. "We'd better - go
to bed and get all the sleep we can. The
for the hawser will hold twice as much OF a
strain as is ON it now, and the spars are set
all right"
Once more did the crew of the River Queen
retire to rest. But Jim could not sleep, and,
when the first gray Light that betokens the
coming dawn appeared he was on deck, try
ing to devise some means by which the boat
could be forced back into the cutoff he
could see that the fat-boat had drifted more
than a mile into the bend, and that to get
her back against the current would require
time and thought.
Jethro had breakfast ready by sunrise,
and, as soon as it had been eaten, they began
to extricate the River Queen from her unde-
sirable position
A hawser was made fast to the bow, then
carried on the opposite Shore and, after a
half hours severe work, the fat-boat was
headed in the proper direction, ready to re
sumo the somewhat eventful voyage, The
spars were taken inboard, the after hawsef
shore to cast off the forward one when she
should have swung around sufficiently
1t was nine o'clock before the hat-boat was
on her way round the bend, and if Jim re-
gretted this interruption to the trip, the 9TH
ers ON board surely did not.
They were drifting through narrow chan
mel, where it was necessary to keep two at
the sweeps all the time, lest the boat should
swing in among the trees; but the scene was
so entirely different from that since leaving
Memphis that very one was pleased with
the change.
The trees hung over the waterway in such
a manner that it seemed if they were sail
ing through forest, and True and Bent fan
cied there were fine chances now of their
making large bag of game. They did not
realize, as jim and Jethro did, the difficulties
they would have in landing for the night.
The boat could only be made fast at some
place on the bank that was free from trees,
otherwise she would be in the same fix from
which they had just extricated her, and such
places it might be difficult to find.
During the entire day but two openings in
the trees had been seen, and it was growing
late when cleared spot, that had probably
been a regular landing before the floods had
formed the cutoff and when Horseshoe Bend
was the main channel of the river, was sight
ed close ahead. ,
"Work her in, boys!" said Jim, as he be-
gan to pull on the port sweep. There's as
good place to stay all night in as We could
ask for, and it won't do to go past it at this
hour of the day"
True and Bent worked unusually hard to
force the River Queen into the landing Jim
had pointed out, for they saw an opportunity
of proving whether Jethro's statement IN re,
gard to the hunting facilities on the bend
were correct or not.
As soon as the boat was moored, Jimmie
and the cook set about laying false floor IN
the kitchen, using such lumber as they. could
get from boxes that had been brought on
board when new goods had been purchased.
True and Bent were not really needed to
do any of the work required to be done, and
thew hastened to make preparations for a
hunting excursion, confident that they should
find Dlenty of game.