at, an' when yer git through, climb up the ladder,
an' report ter me. What'll I call yer?"

"Steve."

"Steve--hey; sorter handy man, ain't yer?"

"Well, I've done a little of everything in my time. I'm not afraid to
work."

During most of the remaining hours of the morning the mate kept me
employed below, in company with a number of others of the crew, in
sorting over the miscellaneous cargo, which had evidently been very
hastily loaded. I began to think that I had made a wrong choice, and
that, in the guise of a passenger, with the freedom of the upper decks,
my chances for observation would have been decidedly better. The work
was hard, and dirty, and, after a few hours of it, I must have looked
my assumed part to perfection. However, it was now too late to assert
myself, and I could only trust blindly to Fate to furnish me with the
information I needed. Mapes merely glanced in upon us occasionally,
leaving the overseeing of the gang to a squatty, red-faced white man,
whose profanity never ceased. There were ten of us in the gang,
several being negroes, and I was unable to extract any information of
value from those I attempted to converse with. One had assisted in
rescuing the party from the wrecked keel-boat, and had seen the two
women, as they came aboard under the glare of a torch, but his
description of their appearance was far from clear, and as to what had
become of them since, he knew nothing.

As we worked in the heat and dirt below, the steamer steadily plowed
its way up stream, meeting with no vessel bound down, or even a
drifting barge; nor did I perceive the slightest sign of any settlement
along the banks. Our course ran zig-zag from shore to shore in an
endeavor to follow the main channel, and progress was slow, the
wheelsman evidently not being well acquainted with the stream. The cry
of a leadsman forward was almost constant. Once we tied up against the
western bank for nearly an hour to remove a bit of driftwood from the
wheel, and I heard voices speaking above on the upper deck as though
passengers were grouped along the rail. I obtained no glimpse of
these, however, although one of the negroes informed me that there were
several army officers on board. The possibility that some of these
might recognize me was not a pleasant thought. I saw nothing of the
captain, but heard him shouting orders to the men engaged tinkering at
the paddle-wheel. The overseer gave me a hat which adde