taking outside indications as facts.

Although knowing full well that we were not proceeding in accordance
with the law, since we had no authority for forcing an entrance into a
dwelling, we burst open the rear door, and made thorough examination
of the place.

The household goods were tossed and tumbled about as if some one had
lately been there having little time to spare; but no living thing
could be found.

The traitor had no children, therefore flight with his wife would be
comparatively easy, and I was convinced that he had gone down the
river intending to claim protection from the enemy.

"That's what he has done!" Darius said emphatically when I gave words
to my belief. "It stands to reason that he went away in a boat, an'
there's just a chance we may come up with him yet! Let's get on board,
lads, an' if the Avenger knows how to sail we'll bring it out of her
this night."

Then we returned with all speed to the shore; but I had little hope we
could overtake the traitor, because he had at least three or four
hours the start, and a canoe might be paddled twice as fast as the
pungy would sail with such a light wind.

Darius, however, seemed certain we would overtake him, and urged us
lads to greater speed or more severe exertions until the little vessel
was under way, gliding down the river but little faster than the
current would carry a canoe even though no paddles were used.

So eager in the chase was Darius that he would not allow either of us
to go below, but insisted that all hands remain on the lookout, lest
we over-run the game, and losing no little time as he swung the
Avenger in close to this bank or that where the overhanging foliage
afforded a hiding place for a small boat.

Not until daylight did we arrive off St. Leonard's bay, and it goes
without saying that we had seen nothing of our traitor, neither had we
come across a craft of any kind.

"He's bound now to go on until he overtakes the British fleet," Darius
said angrily when the coming of daylight revealed the shores to us.
"We'll have the best of him once we're out of the river!"

"You can't keep up the chase much longer if we count on gettin' a
cargo of oysters," Jerry suggested, and the old man declared that he
would never throw over a dredge until it became certain that Macomber
had really escaped us.

But after some reflection he was willing to take back his words,
knowing we could not go very far into the lower bay without so