Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-10-31

have sunken, or else drifted away, a
helpless wreck. The first sound my
ears caught, echoing across the water,
was an OATH and question: "By
Il a good job; do you see that fell
low anywhere?'
Nav" the response a mere growl.
Hes goner, reckon never knowed
whut hit him, jedgin' from the way
he upended it."
"Well, then he isn't likely to bother
us any more. Suppose he was the
white man?'
"Sure he wus; it wus the niger
he dropped in tween ther boats, an
went down like a stone. He never
yeeped but just onct, when / furst
gripped ther girl. 1 don't reckon as
she wus hurt ct all; leastwise never
aimed fer ter hurt her none."
"Has she said anything?"
"Not a ID twitter; maybe she's
tainted. I dunno, but that's ther way
females do. What shall 1 do with
the bird, Kirby?"
"Oh, hold on to her there awhile. .
long as she's quiet. I'm going to try
the steam again, and get outside into
the big river. H, man, but this /
hasn't been such bad nights work"
The steam began to siZz, settling |
swiftly into a rhythmic chugging, as
the revolving wheel began to churn |
up the water astern. Confident of |
being safely hidden by the darkness, |
l permitted the current to bear me
downward, my muscles aching pain
fully from the struggle, and with no
other thought in my mind except to
keep well out of sight of the Occu-
pants of the boat. To be perceived by
them and overtaken in the water
meant certain death, while if they con-
tinued to believe that 1 had actually
sunk beneath the surface, some fu-
ture carelessness on their part might
yield me an unexpected opportunity to
serve Rene. The few words overheard
had made sufficiently plain the stu
alton. Poor Sam had already found
freedom in death. crashed between the
two colliding boats, but the girl had
been grasped in time and hauled unin-
jured aboard the heavier craft. This
had been the object of the attack-to
gain possession of her. Very evidently
l had not been seen closely enough
| to be recognized by Kirby In a meas
ure this afforded me a decided advan-
tage, provided we ever encountered
each other again-and l meant that
We should. The account between US
was not closed by this incident; far
! from it, There in that black water,
struggling to keep afloat, while being
swept resistlessly out into the river,
with no immediate object before me
except to remain concealed by the
veil of darkness, 1 resolved solemnly
to myself that this affair should never
end until it was ended right. In that
moment of decision l cared not at all
for Rene Beaucaire's drop of negro
blood, nor for the fact that she. was
slave in her masters hands. To my
mind she was but woman, sweet,
lovable, girlish woman, in the unre-
strained power of brute, and depend
ent alone on me for rescue. That was
enough; cared for nothing more
With silent strokes l waited patient
ly until the steady chugging of the en-
CINE grew faint in the distance, and
then finally ceased entirely.
Uncertain which way to turn, and
conscious of a strange lassitude, ]
made no struggle to reach land, but
permitted myself to be borne down
ward in the grip of the water. Sud
denly something drifted against nv
body, a black, ill-defined object, toss.
ing about on the swell of the waves
and instinctively / grasped at it. rec
ognizing instantly the shell of oul
wrecked boat. 1t was all awash. a
great hole stove in it's side well for.
ward, and so filed with water the
added weight of my body would have
sunk it instantly. Yet the thing re
mained buOyant enough to float, anC
3 l clung to its stern, thankful even fol
this slight help.
There was no occasion for fear. al
7 though / became aware that the sweeT
, of the current was steadily bearing u.
) farther out toward the center of the
7 broad stream, and soon felt convinced
: that escape from my predicamen
] would be impossible until after day
/ light. The struggle to keep afioat wa.
. no longer necessary, and my heaC
sank in relief on the hands gripping a
D the boats stern, while we fioated 81
2 lently on through the black mystery.
r Suddenly the wrecked boats bow
S grated against something immovable
2 then became fixed, the stern swingin,
+ slowly about, until it also caught, ant
l could feel the full volume of down
pouring water against my body. Th
blindly floating boat had driftet
upon snag, seemingly the major por
ton of tree, now held by some spi
a of sand. 1 struggled vainly in an al
# tempt to release the grip which he'll
V us, but the force of the current ha
|. securely wedged the boats bow be
II meath limb. bare leafless tentaclt
II making all my efforts useless. foun
s, a submerged branch on which t
II stand, gripped the boat desperately t
e prevent being swept away, and waite
e for the dawn.
? 1t seemed a long while coming, an
ID never did man gaze on more diSma
1T CHASTITY scene than was revealed I
70 me by those first gray CLEANS diml
- showing in the far east. All abOJ
D. stretched utter desolation; whereve
-e my eyes turned the vista was th
v, samoa wide stretch of restless brow
er water surging and leaping past, boun'
lie ed by low-lying shores, forlorn and
d. serted. How far l had aimlessly drift
OF ed downstream during the night was
I'd mere matter of conjecture. l po
TX sessed no knowledge of where 1 wa
at Each bank of the river appeared abol
ne equally bare and desOlate, entirely d
ed void of promise However, l cho'
We the west shore for my experiment,
as the current seemed less strong in tn
nd direction, and was about to plunge
rt determined to fight a way acros
Ig. when my eyes suddenly detected
er faint wreath of smoke curling up in
u the pale sky above a headland far