The Oklahoma miner. [volume] (Krebs, Okla.) 1912-192?, 1920-03-04
CHAPTER VIl-contlnued.

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"Have you ever visited the mouth of
Saunders creek7 You have! How
far away is that from here|
"Not more than half a mile; IT en-
ters the river just below the Land
ing"
"And, If 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 this|
"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. Nou-you think
we could use thutY
at seems to be all that is left us.
! intend to make the effort, anyway.
You had better show me the road"
l followed her closely, 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
lie the possibility of attack. | was
obliged to rely upon a guess at the
time Of night, yet surely it could not
be long after twelve and there must
remain hours of darkness amply sufii-
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 If 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 OF
down stream, while the coming of the
early daylight would surely permit us
TO discover some place Of conceaIment
along the desolate Illinois shore. Des
perate as the attempt undoubtedly
was the situation as l considered it II
all its details brought me faith in ou
success and fresh encouragement tC
make the effort
We moved forward slowly. / tool
the lead myself, bending low and fee
ing carefully for footing I'm the wir.
grass. The darkness so shrouded ey
erything, blending objects into shape
less shadows, that It required seycga
moments beforeII could clearly deter
mine the exact details. The mouth o
the creek, good-sized stream, wa
only few yards uWuy and the boat
rather larger craft than had an
tcipated seeing, lay just off shore
with stern to the bank, as though pre-
pared for instant departures 1t wa
securely held I'm position by rop,
probably looped about a Conyenicr
stump, and my oy S. were finally abb
to trace the outlany of the wheel b
which it was propelled. Except fC
struggling rushes extending to IL
edge of the water, the space bctWeo
was vacant yet sufficiently mauted
darkness TO enable one to creep 70
ward unseen.
At first glance l could distinguish I
sign of the boatman left in charg
but even as lay there, breathleSs an
uncertain, he suddenly revealed h
presence by lighting a lantern in Il
stern. The illumination was feeb
enough yet sufficient to expose 20 vie
the small, unprotected engine aft, nj
also the fact that all forward of Il
little cockpit I'm which it stood Il
entire craft was decked over The f,
low was busily engaged In oyerhal
ing the machinery, leaning far fC
ward, his body indistlnct the lante
swinging in one hand, with entire {
tenton devoted to his task. OcC