have no doubt the good Samaritan got more out of his own kindness than
the robbed Jew did.

Before he had a chance to restore the money to its rightful owner, the
two hours of dog-watch had expired, and he was obliged to go on watch
again, much to his annoyance. He had been nearly twenty-four hours
without sleep, and after a night of such excitement it was unpleasant as
well as perilous to have to hold this money, which did not belong to
him, for six hours longer, liable at any minute to get into difficulty
through any scheme of the gamblers and their allies, by which his
recovery of the money might be misinterpreted. The morning seemed to
wear away so slowly. All the possibilities of Parkins's attacking him,
of young Anderson's committing suicide, and of the misconstruction that
might be put upon his motives--the making of his disinterested action
seem robbery--haunted his excitable imagination. At last, while the
engines were shoving their monotonous shafts backward and forward, and
the "palatial steamer" Iatan was slowly pushing her way up the stream,
August grew so nervous over his money that he resolved to relieve
himself of part of it. So he sent for the mud-clerk by a passing
deck-hand.

"I want you to keep this money for me until I get off watch," said
August. "I made Parkins stand and deliver this morning while we were
at Paducah."

"You did?" said the mud-clerk, not offering to touch the money. "You
risked your life, I declare, for that fool that called you a thief. You
are a fool, Gus, and nothing but your blamed good luck can save you from
getting salivated, bright and early, some morning. Not a great deal I
won't take that money. I don't relish lead, and I've got to live among
these fellows all my days, and I don't hold that money for anybody. The
old man would ship me at Louisville, seeing I never stopped anybody's
engine and backed it in a hurry, as you did. If I'd known where Parkins
was, I'd a dropped a gentle word in the ear of the crowd outside, but I
wouldn't a pulled that greeny's coffee-nuts out of the fire, and I won't
hold the hot things for you. I declare I won't. Saltpeter wouldn't save
me if I did."

So Gus had to content himself in his nervousness, not allayed by this
speech, und keep the money in his pocket until noon. And, after all the
presentiment he had had, noon came round. Presentiments generally come
from the nerves, and signify nothing; but nobody keeps a tally of the
presenti