ee
more of the wonders of this unknown world.

The captain made a few inquiries respecting his friends, his home, and
his past modes of life, and then engaged him for the cruise. David, in
a state of high, joyous excitement, hurried back to the wagoner, to get
his seven dollars of money and some clothes he had left with him. But
Myers put a very prompt veto upon the lad's procedure, assuming that he
was the boy's master, he declared that he should not go to sea. He
refused to let him have either his clothes or his money, asserting that
it was his duty to take him back to his parents in Tennessee. David
would gladly have fled from him, and embarked without money and without
clothes; but the wagoner watched him so closely that escape was
impossible.

David was greatly down-hearted at this disappointment, and watched
eagerly for an opportunity to obtain deliverance from his bondage. But
Myers was a burly teamster who swung a very heavy wagon-whip,
threatening the boy with a heavy punishment if he should make any
attempt to run away.

After a few days, Myers loaded his team for Tennessee, and with his
reluctant boy set out on his long journey. David was exceedingly
restless. He now hated the man who was so tyranically domineering over
him. He had no desire to return to his home, and he dreaded the hickory
stick with which he feared his brutal father would assail him. One dark
night, an hour or two before the morning, David carefully took his
little bundle of clothes, and creeping noiselessly from the cabin,
rushed forward as rapidly as his nimble feet could carry him. He soon
felt quite easy in reference to his escape. He knew that the wagoner
slept soundly, and that two hours at least must elapse before he would
open his eyes. He then would not know with certainty in what direction
the boy had fled. He could not safely leave his horses and wagon alone
in the wilderness, to pursue him; and even should he unharness one of
the horses and gallop forward in search of the fugitive, David, by
keeping a vigilant watch, would see him in the distance and could
easily plunge into the thickets of the forest, and thus elude pursuit.

He had run along five or six miles, when just as the sun was rising he
overtook another wagon. He had already begun to feel very lonely and
disconsolate. He had naturally an affectionate heart and a strong mind;
traits of character which gleamed through all the dark clouds that
obscured his life. He w