ect upon the
new situation into which he had been so strangely forced. At first he
fancied that he heard sounds of pursuit, and momentarily expected to be
greeted by a stern order from the bank to bring the skiff ashore. He
wondered if a failure to comply would be followed by a rifle-shot, and
then began to calculate the chances of being hit in such a case. But
why should he be shot at? What had he done that he should be arrested,
threatened with jail and hanging, and treated like an outlaw generally?
Whom did these men take him for? and who were they? By the manner in
which they had spoken of a judge, they must represent the law in some
way; but why he should be an object of their pursuit puzzled the boy
more than a little.

To be sure, he had now laid himself open to the suspicion of being a
river thief, by carrying off their skiff. Would it not be well to
return it at once? He could talk to them, and explain how he happened
to be on the island, while still at such a distance from shore as to be
beyond their reach. They might shoot, though, and if they really
considered him the rascal they pretended, it was almost certain that
they would. No, that plan would not work. The only thing left to be
done was to take the skiff to Dubuque, telegraph to his father from
there, or try and find one of the Major's friends in that city who
would do so for him, and at the same time provide him with food and
shelter until his father came. Yes, that was the best plan.

Having reached this determination, Winn sat up and looked about him.
The light which he had mistaken for dawn was that of a late-rising
moon, and it hardly penetrated the mist hanging low over the river.
There was nothing in sight; not even the dark mass of timber on the
island. Winn might have been in the middle of the ocean for all that
he could see or hear. Never in his life had the boy felt so utterly
forsaken and alone. He decided to pull diagonally across the current
towards shore, the mere sight of which would be reassuring. But where
were the oars? Until this moment he had not noticed that there were
none in the boat. For some unknown reason they had been taken from it
when the party landed on the island; and now the lonely navigator was
utterly without the means of propelling or even guiding his craft. He
tried to tear up one of the floor boards, with the idea of using it as
a paddle; but it was nailed in place so firmly as to resist his utm