The Raymer enterprise., 1920-02-19
CHAPTER vli-contlnued.

u
Have you ever visited the mouth Of
Saunders creek1 You have! How
far away is that from here?"
"Not more than half a mile; II en-
ters the river Just below the Land
Ing"
"And, II I 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 thlsi"
THAT was what the man who talked
to 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 thatT'
at 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, u mere
shadow, as she silently led the way
along the edge of the wood and back
of the negro quarters. felt confident
OF being able safely to approach the
unsuspectIng engineer and overcome
any resistance before he could real
ize the possibility Of attack. was
Obliged to rely upon guess at the
slime Of night. yet surely 1t could not
be long after twelve and there must
remain hours of darkness amply suif-
cient 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 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
to discover some place of concealment
along the desolate Illinois shore. Des-
perate as the attempt undoubtedly
was the situation as 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-
erythIng. blending objects into shape
less shadows, that Ii required several
moments before | could clearly deter
mine the exact details. The mouth OF
the creek, good-sized stream, was
only few yards away, and the boat,
rather larger craft than | had an
ticlpated 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 convenient
stump, and my eyes were finally able
to trace the outlines of the wheel by
which II was propelled. Except for
struggling rushes extending to the
edge of the water, the space between
was vacant yet sufficiently mantled In
darkness to enable one to creep for
ward unseen.
AT first glance | could distinguish no
sign OF the boatman left In charge.
but even as l lay there, breathless and
uncertain, he suddenly revealed his
presence by lighting lantern In the
stern. The illumination was feeble
enough yet sufficient to expose to view
the small. unprotected engine aft. and
also the fact that all forward of the
little cockpit In which II stood the
entire craft was decked over. The fel-
low was busily engaged In overhaul
Ing the machinery. leaning far for
ward. his body indistinct, the lantern
swinging In one hand. with entire at
tention devoted to his task. Occa-
sionally. as he lifted his head for some
purpose, the dim radiance fell upon
his face. revealing the unmistakable
countcnance Of mularto, fellow Of
medium size. broad Of cheek. with un-
usually full lips and a fringe Of whis-
ker turning gray. Somehow this rev.
elation that he was negro and not q
white man brought with It to me an
additional confidence In success. ! In
clined my head and whispered In the
girls ear:
"You ore not 10 move from hsrs un-
~ ." This n to b. my part ee