The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1920-02-27

"Ah done heerd all bout dat, sab
An yer nebber know'd dis yere cir
afore ct all?"
mo, never even saw her.
CHANGED to hear the story and wen
| to the house to warn them, as no one
| else would. / was too late, and ne
other course was left but to help hel
escape. That is the whole of it,"
He asked several other questions
but at last appeared satisfied, and
after that we discussed the guard duty
of the day, both agreeing it would not
be safe for us to permit any possible
pursuit to pass by us up thesriver un-
seen. Sam professed himself as un-
wearied by the nights work and will
ing to stand the first watch. l lay
down in the tree shade. and must
have fallen asleep almost Immediately.
1 do not know what aroused me, but
1 Immediately sat upright, startled
and instantly awake, the first object
confronting me being Sam on the
crest of the opposite ridge, eagerly
reckoning me to join him. The mo-
ment he was assured of my. coming,
and without so much as uttering a
word of explanation, he vanished
into the shadow of the woods.
I crossed the ravine with reckless
haste, clambering up the opposite
bank, and sixty feet beyond suddenly
came into view of the broad expanse
of water. Scarcely had l glimpsed this
rolling flood. sparkling under the.
suns rays, when my gaze turned up
stream, directed by an excited gesture
of the negro. Less than a mile away,
its rapidly revolving wheel churning
the water into foam in ceaseless battle
against the current, was a steamboat.
A number of moving figures were per-
ceptible on the upper deck. I stared
at the apparition, scarcely compre-
hending the reality of what I beheld.
''Yer bettah stoop down more, sah,"
Sam urged. Ser sum o. dem fellars
might see yer yet. All nebber heerd
nuthin' ner saw no smoke till she
All cudn't dare go fer yer then, sab,
fer fear dey'd see me, so All JUS
nat'arly lay down yere an watched
her go by"
SIS it a government boat?"
"Ah reckon maybe; leastwiseE 'thar's
a heap O. sojers aboa I'd her-reg'lars,
All reckons, fer dey's all in uniform.
But everybody aboard wasn't sojers."
"You know the steamer"
'Yas, sab. Abs seed her face afore
dis down ct st. Louee. She ulster run
down de ribber-she's de John B. |
She amt no great shakes OBJ |
4 boat, sah."
His eyes, which had been eagerly |
the movements of the craft, |
turned and glanced at me. "Massa
Kirby he wus aboard dat steamer,
,ah."
"Kirby! Are you sure about that,
Sam?"
"'Course Abs sure. Didn't All see
him just as plain as All see you right
low? He wus forrad by de rail, near
lie pilot house, a-watchin' dis whole
shore like hawk. Dat sure wus
Nassa Kirby all right, but dar want
nobody else long wild him."
"But what could he be doing there
IN troop boat?"
The negro scratched his head, mo-
nentarily puzzled by my question.
"Ah sure don't know, sah," he adj
nitted. "OnIy OATS perzackly who it ,
vas. All figure it out bout dis way,
ah: dat nobody kin tell yit which
way we went-up de ribber er down
lie ribber. Long cum de John B.
Hover, an Massa Kirby he just take
chance an goes aboard. De sheriff
lie goes der odder way, downstream
n a rowboat; an OATS how dey aims
err sure head us off,
I sat down at the edge of the bluff,
convinced that the conclusions of .the
legro were probably correct. That
vas undoubtedly about how 1t had
To attempt pursuit up
trenm with only oars as propelling
ewer would be senseless, but the pas
age upward of this troop boat af-
orded Kirby an opportunity he would
ot be slow to accept. Getting aboard
yould present no great difficulty, and
is probable acquaintance with the
aptain would make the rest easy.
The steamer by this time was NOV
~ diagonally across the river, head
oward the other shore, and was al
eady so far away the men on deck
ERE invisible. 1t was scarcely prob
Bile that Kirby would go far north
ard, but just what course the man
ould take when once more ashore ,
as problematical. Where he might
moose to seek for us could not be !
messed. Yet the mere fact that he
as already above US on the river was /
itself a matter for grave consid-
.ation. Still thus far we remained
and there was less danger
that direction than downstream.
nee we attained the Illinois and {
AIDE arrangements with Shrunk the
mediate danger would be over. l
hen need go no farther-the end of
e adventure might be left to others. |
looked up-the steamer was a mere {
nudge on the distant bosom of the I
YER.
n ..,cg 1e+o affnrnnnn bofova Pane