Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-10-17

down de ribber-she's de John b.
Glover. She amt no great shakes OBJ
boat, sah."
His eyes, which had been eagerly
following the movements of the craft,
turned and glanced at me. "Massa
Kirby he wus aboard dat steamer.
sah."
"Kirbyl Are you sure about that,
Sam?"
Course Abs sure. Didn't All see
him just as plain as All see you right
nowf He wus forrad by de rail, near
de pilot house, a-watchin' dis whole
shore like hawk. Dat sure wus
Massa Kirby all right, but dar want
nobody else long wild him."
But what could he be doing there
on troop boat?"
The negro scratched his head, mo-
mentarily puzzled by my question.
"Ah sure don't know, sah," he ad-
mitted. "Only dat's perzackly who 1t
was. All figure it out bout dis way,
sab: dat nobody kin tell yit which
way we went-up de ribber er down
de ribber. Long cum de John B.
Glover, an Massa Kirby he just take
chance an goes aboard. De sheriff
he goes der odder way, downstream
in rowboat; an dat's how dey aims
ter sure head us Off"
sat down at the edge of the bluff,
convinced that the conclusions of the
negro were probably correct. That
was undoubtedly about how 1t had
happened. To attempt pursuit up
stream with only oars as propelling
power would be senseless, but the pas
sage upward of this troop boat af
not be slow to accept. Getting aboard
would present no great difficulty, and
his probable acquaintance with the
captain would make the rest easy.
The steamer by this time was NOV
ing diagonally across the river, head
toward the other shore, and was al
ready so far away the men on deck
were invisible. 1t was scarcely prob
able that Kirby would so far north
ward, but just what course the man
would take when once more ashore
was problematical. Where he might
choose to seek for US could not be
guessed. Yet the mere fact that he
was already above us on the river was
| in itself a matter for grave cOnsid-
Grafton. Still thus far we remained
INDICATED, and there was less danger
in that direction than downstream.
Once we attained the Illinois and
made arrangements with Shrunk the
immediate danger would be over.
Then need go no farther-the end of
the adventure might be left to others.
1 looked up-the steamer was a mere
smudge on the distant bosom of the
river.
It was late afternoon before Rene
finally emerged from the cabin to
learn the news, and l spent most of
the time on watch, seated at the edge
of the bluff, my eyes searching the
surface of the river. While Kirby's
presence upstream unquestionably in
creased our peril of capture, this did
not cause me as much anxious thought
as did the strange disappearance OF
Free Pete and the two women. What
had become of them during the night
Surely they could never have out
stripped US with only pair of oars
by which to combat the current, anC
yet we had obtained no glimpse Of
them anywhere along that stretch OF
river.
The knowledge that the steamer
which had passed us was heavily
laden with troops was most encour
aging. In itself alone this was abun
dant proof of the safe delivery of IN!
dispatches, and 1 was thus relieved tt
realize that the duty had been per
formed. There might be wonder ant
later the necessity of explanation, ye
no one would suffer from my absence
and / was within the limits of my fur
lough-the re-enfOrcements for Fort
Armstrong and Crawford were al
ready on their way. So, altogether
faced the task of eluding Kirby witt
lighter heart and renewed conf
dence. Alone, as believed him to be
and in that new country on the yer,
verge of. civilization, he was hardl,
an antagonist 1 needed greatly t,
fear. Indeed, as man to man, rathe
welcomed an encounter.
There is little to record, either o
. the day or night. The latter shut dow
dark but rainless, although the SIX
, was heavily overcast by clouds. San
made no endeavOr to speed his engine
> keeping most of the way close to tn
deeper shadow of the shore, and th
machinery ran smoothly, its noise in
l'distinguishable at any distance. Da
had not broken when we came to tn
mouth of the Illinois and turned ou
bow cautiously up that stream, be
coming Immediately aware that w
had entered new waters. The negro
ignorant of what was before US, 500
beached the boat on a sand bar, an
we decided it would be better for u
to remain there until dawn. This wa
not long in coming, the graying SIX
of the east slowly lighting up the seen
and bringing into view, little by littl,
our immediate surroundings. Nowher
appeared the slightest evidence of lif,
either on water or land; all was foI
' lorn and dead, vista of utter des,
! lation. Sam was standing up, hi
: whole attention concentrated on til
view upstream.
do steamers ever go up this river
l asked, surprised at the volume {
. water.
He glanced around at me as thoug
startled at my voice.
"Yas,. sab; putty near eny sortt
boat kin. Trouble is, sab, we's 20
} started in de wrong place-dar
e plenty watah t'other side of dis vel
v bar"
g "Who told you the best way to fin
e Shrunk?'
t. His eyes widened and searched m
r face, evidently still somewhat susu
ID cious of any white man.
e. "a niger down st. Louee way, sa
d. Dey done cOtched him an brought hi
;" back afore he even got ter Beard
IS town."
d "And you believe you can guide I
le there?"