m sure I am not mistaken in the spot."

"Yet he is not here, and there is no sign of him. You left no other
instructions except for him to remain until your return?"

"I think not--oh; yes, I did tell him if you women came without me, he
was to drive you at once to the boat and leave me to follow the best
way I could. Do you suppose it possible the others reached here and he
has gone away with them?"

I felt a consciousness that her eyes were upon me, that she was
endeavoring to gain a glimpse of my face.

"No, I can hardly imagine that. I--I do not know what to think. When
I see you I believe all you say, but here in the darkness it is not the
same. You--you are not deceiving me?"

"No; you must trust my word. This is unfortunate, but neither of us
could venture back now. There is a pledge between us."

She stood silent and I strove by peering about to discover some marks
of guidance, only to learn the uselessness of the effort. Even a
slight advance brought no result, and it was with some difficulty I
even succeeded in locating her again in the darkness--indeed, only the
sound of her voice made me aware of her immediate presence.

"The negro's boat is some distance away, is it not?"

"Four miles, over the worst road I ever traveled." A sudden
remembrance swept into my mind, bringing with it inspiration.

"Have you ever visited the mouth of Saunder's Creek? You have! How
far away is that from here?"

"Not more than half a mile, it enters the river just below the Landing."

"And, if I understood you rightly," I urged, eagerly, "you said that
these fellows left their keel-boat 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 keel-boat on the river equipped with
an engine and had come up from St. Louis in two hours. The Sheriff had
it fitted up to carry him back and forth between river towns. You--you
think we could use that?"

"It seems to be all that is left us. I intend to make the effort,
anyway. You had better show me the road."

CHAPTER XII

WE CAPTURE A KEEL-BOAT

I followed her closely, a mere shadow, as she silently led the way
along the edge of the wood and back of the negro quarters. The path
was narrow and apparently little used, extremely rough at first until
we finally came out upon what was s