Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-12-27

usAJ .acsVs~F tao oo0oo0y UWlxS cur
rent. Once beyond the protection Of
the point the stsr-glsam revealed the
STURDY, rush Of the waters. occasion
ally hecksd with bubbles OF foam.
Sam hsIdlsd tho unwieldy craft with
the skill Of 4 practicsd boatman. and
the laboring engine made far less
racket than had anticipated. Pistol
In hand, and, vigilant to every motion
Of the negro. my eyes swept along that
vague. shore line, catching nowhere O
spark Of light, nor any evidence that
the steady chug Of our engine had GRE
atcd ALARM We were alone upon the
mysterious bosom Of the vast stream,
tossed about In the full sweep Of the
current, vet moving steadily forward,
and already safely beyond both sight
and sound.
Every moment Of progress tended to
Increase my confidence in Sans 10y
atty. The fellow plainly enough real
ICED the situatiOn--that safety for
himself depended on keeping beyond
the reach Of his master. To this end
he devoted every instant diligently to
cOaxing his engine and a skillful guild.
ance of the boat, never once permit.
ting his head to turn far enough to
glance at me- although I could occa-
sionally detect his eyes wandering Ia
the. direction Of the girl. ~
She had not uttered a word nor
changed her posture since first enter.
ing the boat, but remained just as l
had seated her, one hand grasping the
edge. of the cockpit, her gaze on the
rushing waters ahead. could realize
something of what must be passing
through her mind-the mingling of
doubt and fear which assailed her In
this strange environment. Up until
now she had been accorded no oppor-
tunity to think, to consider the nature
Of her position she had been com
PEELED to act wholly upon impulse and
driven 'blindly to accept my sugges-
tons. And now, In this silence, the
reaction had come, and she was al
ready questioning If she had done
right.
1t was in my heart to speak to her,
in effort to strengthen her faith, but 1
hesitated, scarcely knowing what to
say, deeply touched by the pathetic
droop Of her figure, and in truth un-
certain In my own mind as to whether
or not we had chosen the wiser
course. All dared do was to silently
reach out one hand and rest it gently
on those fingers clasping the rail. She
did not remove her hand from beneath
mine, nor indeed give the slightest evil
dence that she was even aware Of my
action.
'Wus All to turn nor, sab" asked
the negro suddenly.
Eyes, upstream; but keep in as close
to the shore as you think safe. There
is no settlement along this bank, is
there1"
mo, sab; dar's JUS one cabin, bout
q mile upstream. but dar amt nobody
Twin thar now. Whar yer all aim
fer ter GOT"
I hesitated an instant before I an
swered, yet almost as quickly decided
that the whole truth would probably
serve Us best. The man already had
one reason to use his best endeavors;
now would bring before him . sec
ond.
"Just as far up the river before day
Eight as possible, Sam. Then hope
to uncover some hiding place where
We can lie concealed until 1t Is dark
again. Do you know any such place."
ION de Illinois shore, sab? Les see:
thars Rassuer creek, bout twenty
mile up. All 'spects you all knows
whut yer a headin' fer?"
ITO a certain extent-yes; but we
had to decide on this action very
quickly, with no chance to plan it out.
I am aiming at the mouth Of the Illi-
nois."
he glanced about at me, vainly en-
deavoring to declpher my expression
in the gloom.
DE Illinois ribber, boss; what yer
hope fer ter find thar?"
* certain man I've heard about.
Did you ever happen to hear white
man mentioned who lives near there?
His name is Amos Shrunk."
Icould scarcely distinguish his eyes,
but I could feel them. I thought for
q moment he would not answer.
"Yer1l surely excuse me, sah," he
said at last, hupbly, his voice with a
note Of pleading 1t It., "Ah's feelin'
friendly 'nough an all dat, sab. but
still yer mus member dat Abs talkin'
ter 4 perfect stranger. II yer wud
sure tell me furst just whut yer was
amin at, then maybe Aid know
heap morn All do now
II guess you are right, Sam. I'll tell
you the whole of it. I am endeavor-
ing to help this young woman to
escape those men back yonder. You
must know why they were there; no
doubt you overheard them talk coming
upr
"Yas. sab; Massa Donaldson he was
goin' up fer ter serve sum papers fer
Massa Kirby, 80 he cud run of de
Beaucaire niggers. But dis yere gal,
she amt no nigger-she's just q white
pusson." t.A4 49,.
"She Is q. slave under the law"
said gravely, as she made an effort to
move, "and tho man Kirby claims her."
could see his mouth fly open, but
the surprise Of this statement halted
his efforts at speech. -"
"That explains tho whole situation"
I went on. 'Now, will you answer
NOR =" ~
"'Bout Dis yere Massa shrunkY'