Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-10-10
CHAPTER vll-contlnued.

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"Have you ever visited the mouth Of |
Saunders creek7 You havel How |
Ear away is that from hereT
''Not more than half a mile; 1t en-
ters the river Just below the Land
ing"
'And. II 1 understood you rightly"
] urged eagerly, you said that these
fellows left their keelboat there; that
It had been rigged up to run by steam,
and had no guard aboard except the
engineer; you are sure Of thisY'
THAT was what the man who talked
70 me first said--the deputy sheriff.
He boasted that they had the only
keelboat on the river equipped with
an engine and had come up from st.
Louis in two hours. You-you think
We could use thatr"
1T seems to be all that is left us.
I intend to make the effort, anyway.
You had better show me the road"
followed her closely, a mere
shadow, as she silently led the way
along the edge Of the wood and back
OF the negro quarters. l felt confident
Of being able safely TO approach the
unsuspecting engineer and overcome
any resistance before he could real
Ire the possibility Of attack. was
obliged to rely upon a guess at the
time Of night. yet surely 1t could not
be long after twelve and there must
remain hours of darkness amply sufii-
Client for our purpose. With the boat
once securely in our possession the en-
gineer compelled to serve. for had no
skill In that line, we could strike out
directly for the opposite shore and
creep along in its shadows past the
sleeping town at the Landing until we
attained the deserted waters above.
BY then we should practically be be-
yond immediate pursuit. Even II Car
yer or the sheriff discovered Kirby.
any immediate chase by river would
be impossible. Nothing was available
for their use except a few rowboats
at the Landing; they would know moth
ing as to whether we had gone up or
down stream, while the coming of the
early daylight would surely permit us
70 discover some place of concealment
along the desolate Illinois shore. Des-
perate as the attempt undoubtedly
was the situation az / considered 1t in
all Its details brought me faith in our
success and fresh encouragement to
make the effort.
We moved forward slowly. took
the lead myself, bending low and feel
ing carefully for footing in the wiry
grass. The darkness so shrouded ev-
erythlng. blending objects into shape
less shadows, that 1t required several
moments before could clearly deter
mine the exact details. The mouth of
the creek, good-sized stream, was
only a few yards away, and the boat,
rather a larger craft than , had an
ticipated seeing, lay just off shore,
with stern to the bank, as though pre-
pared for instant departure. 1t was
securely held In position by a rope
probably looped about a convenient
stump, and my eyes were finally able
20 trace the outlines Of the wheel by
which It was propelled. Except fol-
struggling rushes extending to the
edge of the water, the space between
was vacant yet sufficiently mantled IL
darkness to enable one to creep for
ward unseen.
At first glance l could distinguish nt
sign Of the boatman left In charge
but even as / lay there, breathless anC
uncertain, he suddenly revealed hi
presence by lighting lantern in tn,
stern. The illumination was feebl,
enough yet sufficient to expose to view
the small, unprotected engine aft, anC
also the fact that all forward of tn,
little cockpit In which IL stood tn,
entire craft was decked over. The fel
low was busily engaged In overhaul
ing the machinery, leaning far for
ward, his body indlstinct, the lanterr
swinging In one hand, with entire at
tention devoted to his task. Occa
slonally, as he lifted his head for som
purpose. the dim radiance fell upol
his face. revealing the unmistakabI
countenance of a mulatto, a fellow o
medium size. broad OF cheek, with un
usually full lips and fringe of whls
her turning gray. Somehow this rev
citation that he wns a negro and not
white man brought with 1t to me a
additional confidence In success. IL
clined my head and whispered In tn
girls ear:
~You are not to move from here ur
tiI I call. This Is to be my part G
the work. handling that lad. al
going now"
''He is colored, In he not-a slavei
"we can only guess as to that. BJ
he does not look 10 me like a har
proposition. II l can only reach tn
boat without being seen the rest wi
be easy. Now is the proper tim
while he is busy tinkering with II
engine. You will stay hereT"
"Yes. OF course; IL could be of Z
help"
She suddenly held out her hand, {
though lmpelled to the action by SON
swift impulse. and the warm pressui
of her fingers menrt moro than word
I could not see the expression on b,
face. yet knew the slender body WI
trembling nervously.
"Surely you are not afraid7"
"Oh. no; II Is not that-I-I am q
unstrung. You must not think of u
az ALL"
realized the gravity of my tas
and my eyes were watchful Of Il
shrouded figure l was silently a
preaching. / drew nearer inch
inch. advancing so slowly and snak
like that not even the slightest souI
OF movement aroused suspicion. A
parently the fellow was engaged
oiling the machinery. for he hi
placed the lantern on deck and he