RAFTMATES 
 
 A STORY OF THE GREAT RIVER 
 
W1NN DASHED AWAY WITH TITE SPEED OF A DEER." 
 
KAFTMATES 
 
 A STOUT OF THE a RE AT RIVER 
 
 BY 
 
 KIRK MUNROE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 " DORTMATB8 " "CAMPMATES" " CANOEMATES " 1TC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YOHK AND LONDOX 
 HARPER A BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
 
RAFTMATES 
 
 Copyright, 1893. by Harper & Brothers 
 Copyright, 1921, by Kirk Munroe 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 D-D 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 OHAFTZB JAfll 
 
 I. THE RAFT 1 
 
 II. WINN ASSUMES A RESPONSIBILITY 8 
 
 III. A MUD-BESPATTERED ARRIVAL FROM CALIFORNIA . . 16 
 
 IV. BILLY BRACKETT STARTS DOWN THE RIVER .... 26 
 V. How THE VOYAGE WAS BEGUN 82 
 
 VI. MR. GILDER AND HIS RUDE RECEPTION 40 
 
 VII. A GANG OF "RIVER-TRADERS" 48 
 
 VIII. DISAPPEARANCE OF THE RAFT 67 
 
 IX. ALONE ON THE ISLAND 63 
 
 X. A NIGHT OF STRANGE HAPPENINGS - . 71 
 
 XI. BILLY BRACKETT S SURPRISING SITUATION .... 80 
 XII. THE TRAPPERS TRAPPED 89 
 
 XIII. WINN S LONELY CRUISE 97 
 
 XIV. A PEAL OF GIRLISH LAUGHTER 106 
 
 XV. "CAP N COD," SABELLA, AND THE "WHATNOT" . .113 
 
 XVI. BIM MAKES AN ENEMY 121 
 
 XVII. THE TRUTH, BUT NOT THE WHOLE TRUTH .... 129 
 
 XVIII. FOLLOWING THE TRAIL 137 
 
 XIX. A CURIOUS COMPLICATION 147 
 
 XX. BIM GROWLS 166 
 
 XXI. ETORY ONE EXPLAINS 166 
 
 XXII. A "MEWEL" NAMED "REWARD" 173 
 
 XXIII. REWARD RUNS AWAY WITH THE PANORAMA . .181 
 
 RJ23470 
 
vi Contents. 
 
 XXIV. WlNN I/ISCOVERS HIS LONG-LOST PUlT . . . .190 
 
 XXV. THE RAFT AND SHOW-BOAT CHANGE CREWS. . .198 
 
 XXVI. A DISASTROUS COLLISION 207 
 
 XXVII. Is THIS OUR RAPT OR NOT ? 216 
 
 XXVIII. THE RESCUE OF SABELLA 225 
 
 XXIX. BIM BRINGS ABOUT A JOYFUL MEETING .... 234 
 
 XXX. IN CLOD S CABIN 243 
 
 XXXI. CAMPMATKS TURN RAFTMATES 252 
 
 XXXII. THE " RIVER-TRADERS " ATTEMPT TO REGAIN POS 
 SESSION 261 
 
 XXXIII. WHERE is BIM? 269 
 
 XXXIV. A BLAZE ON THE RIVER 277 
 
 XXXV. Bm s HEROISM 286 
 
 XXXVI. THE MASTER OF Moss BANK 295 
 
 XXXVII. BIM S COON 303 
 
 XXXVIII. THE GREAT RIVER AND ITS MISCHIEF 312 
 
 XXXIX. HURLED THROUGH THE CREVASSE AND WRECKED . 322 
 
 XL. A MEETING OF MATES . 332 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "WINN DASHED AWAY WITH THE SPEED OF 
 
 A DEER" Frontispiece 
 
 " WHO S THERE? CRIED THE OLD MAN" . . . Facing p. 108 
 
 " THE NEXT INSTANT HE SPRANG TO HIS FEET 
 
 WITH A CRT" " 244 
 
 " LIKE YOUNG TIGERS THE BOYS TUGGED AT 
 
 THE HEAVY SWEEPS" . " 284 
 
E AFT MATES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE RAFT. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the Venture was by no means so large 
 a raft as many that Winn Caspar had watched 
 glide down the Mississippi, he considered it about 
 the finest craft of that description ever put to 
 gether. He was also a little more proud of it 
 than of anything else in the whole world. Of 
 course he excepted his brave soldier father, who 
 had gone to the war as a private, to come home 
 when it was all over wearing a major s uniform ; 
 and his dear mother, who for four weary years 
 had been both father and mother to him, and his 
 sister Elta, who was not only the prettiest girl in 
 the county, but, to Winn s mind, the cleverest. 
 But outside of his immediate family, the raft, the 
 Venture , as his father had named it, was the 
 object of the boy s most sincere admiration and 
 pride. Had he not helped build it ? Did he not 
 
JRaftmates : 
 
 know every timber and plank and board in it ? 
 Had he not assisted in loading it with enough 
 bushels of wheat to feed an army ? Was he not 
 about to leave home for the first time in his life, 
 to float away down the great river and out into 
 the wide world on it ? Certainly he had, and did, 
 and was. So no wonder he was proud of the raft, 
 and impatient for the waters of the little river, 
 on a bank of which the Caspar s lived, to be 
 high enough to float it, that they might make a 
 start. 
 
 Winn had never known any home but this one 
 near the edge of the vast pine forests of Wiscon 
 sin. Here Major Caspar had brought his New 
 England bride many years before. Here he had 
 built up a mill business that was promising him 
 a fortune in a few years more at the time when 
 the war called him. When peace was declared, 
 this business was wellnigh ruined, and the soldier 
 must begin life again as a poor man. For many 
 months he struggled, but made little head-way 
 against adverse fortune. The mill turned out 
 lumber fast enough, but there was no demand for 
 it, or those who wanted it were too poor to pay 
 its price. At length the Major decided upon a 
 bold venture. The Caspar mill was but a short 
 distance from the Mississippi. Far away down 
 the great river were cities where money was 
 
A Story of the Great fiiver. S 
 
 plenty, and where lumber and farm products were 
 in demand. There were not half enough steam 
 boats on the river, and freights were high ; but 
 the vast waterway with its ceaseless current was 
 free to all. Why should not he do as others had 
 done and were constantly doing raft his goods to 
 a market ? It would take time, of course ; but a 
 few months of the autumn and winter could be 
 spared as well as not, and so it was finally decided 
 that the venture should be undertaken. 
 
 It was not to be a timber raft only. Major 
 Caspar did not care to attempt the navigating of 
 a huge affair, such as his entire stock of sawed 
 material would have made, nor could he afford the 
 expense of a large crew. Then, too, while ready 
 money was scarce in his neighborhood, the prairie 
 wheat crop of that season was unusually good. 
 So he exchanged half his lumber for wheat, and 
 devoted his leisure during the summer to the 
 construction of a raft with the remainder. 
 
 This raft contained the very choice of the mill s 
 output for that season squared timbers, planks, 
 and boards enough to load a ship. It was pro 
 vided with two long sweeps, or steering oars, at 
 each end, with a roomy shanty for the accommo 
 dation of the crew, and with two other buildings 
 for the stowing of cargo. The floors of these 
 structures were raised a foot above the deck of the 
 
4 Raftmates : 
 
 raft, and were made water-tight, so that when 
 waves or swells from passing steamboats broke 
 over the raft, their contents would not be injured. 
 In front of the central building, or " shanty," was 
 a bed of sand six feet square, enclosed by wooden 
 sides, on which the camp-fires were to be built. 
 Much of the cooking would also be done here. 
 Besides this there was a small stove in the 
 " shanty " for use during cold or wet weather. 
 
 The " shanty" had a door and three windows, 
 and was in other ways made unusually comfort 
 able. The Major said that after four years of 
 roughing it, he now meant to take his comfort 
 wherever he could find it, even though it was only 
 on a raft. So the Venture s " shanty " was very 
 different from the rude lean-to or shelter of 
 rough boards, such as was to be seen on most of 
 the timber rafts of the great river. Its interior 
 was divided into two rooms, the after one of which 
 was a tiny affair only six by ten feet. It was fur 
 nished with two bunks, one above the other, a 
 table, two camp-chairs, and several shelves, on one 
 of which were a dozen books of travel and history. 
 This was the sleeping-room that Winn was to 
 share with his father. 
 
 A door from this opened into the main living- 
 room of the " shanty." Here were bunks for six 
 men, a dining-table, several benches, barrels, and 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 5 
 
 boxes of provisions, and the galley, with its stove 
 and ample supply of pots, pans, and dishes. The 
 bunks were filled with fresh, sweet-smelling wheat 
 straw, covered with heavy army blankets, and the 
 whole affair was about the most comfortable 
 "shanty" ever set up on a Mississippi timber raft. 
 To Winn it seemed as though nothing could be 
 more perfect or inviting, and he longed for the 
 time when it should be his temporary home. 
 
 For a whole month after the raft was finished, 
 loaded, and ready to set forth on its uncertain 
 voyage, it remained hard and fast aground where 
 it was built. To Winn s impatience it seemed as 
 though high-water never would come. 
 
 " I don t believe this old raft is ever going to 
 float any more than the mill itself," he remarked 
 pettishly to his sister Elta one day in October, as 
 they sat together on the Venture and watched the 
 sluggish current of the little river. 
 
 " Father thinks it will," answered Elta, quietly. 
 
 " Oh yes. Of course father thinks so ; but he 
 may be mistaken as well as other folks. Now if 
 I d had the building of this craft, I would have 
 floated all the material down to the mouth of the 
 creek. Then everything would have been ready 
 for a start as soon as she was finished." 
 
 " How would you have loaded the wheat ?" de 
 manded Elta. 
 
6 Raft/mates : 
 
 " "Why, boated it down, of course." 
 
 "And so added largely to its cost," answered 
 the practical girl. " You know, Winn, that it was 
 ever so much cheaper to build the raft here than 
 it would have been way down there, and, besides, 
 father wasn t ready to start when it was finished. 
 I heard him tell mother that he didn t care to get 
 away before the 1st of November. Anyhow, 
 father must understand his own business better 
 than a sixteen-year-old boy, even if that boy s 
 2iame is Winn Caspar." 
 
 " Oh, 1 never saw such a girl as you are !" ex 
 claimed Winn, impatiently. "You are always 
 making objections to my plans, and telling me 
 that I m only a boy. You d rather any time travel 
 in a rut that some one else had made than mark 
 out a track for yourself. For my part, I d much 
 rather think out my own plans and try new ways." 
 
 So do I, Winnie ; but" 
 
 " Oh, don t call me Winnie, whatever you do ! 
 I m as tired of pet names and baby talk as I am of 
 waiting here for high- water that won t ever come." 
 
 With this the petulant lad rose to his feet, and 
 leaping ashore, disappeared among the trees of the 
 river-bank, leaving Elta to gaze after him with a 
 grieved expression, and a suspicion of tears in her 
 brown eyes. 
 
 In spite of this little scene, Winn Caspar was 
 
A Story of the Great River. 7 
 
 not an ill-tempered boy. He had not learned the 
 beauty of self-control, and thus often spoke hastily, 
 and without considering the feelings of others. 
 He was also apt to think that if things were left 
 to his management, he could improve upon almost 
 any plan proposed or carried out by some one else. 
 He had mingled but little with other boys, and as 
 " man of the family " during his father s four years 
 of absence in the army, had conceived a false esti 
 mate of his own importance and ability. 
 
 Absorbed by pressing business cares after re 
 suming the pursuits of a peaceful life, Major Cas 
 par had been slow to note the imperfections in his 
 boy s character. He was deeply grieved when his 
 eyes were finally opened to them, and held many 
 an earnest consultation with his wife concerning 
 the son, who was at once the source of their great 
 est anxiety and the object of their fondest hopes. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 WINN ASSUMES A RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 IT was during one of these conversations with 
 the boy s mother that Major Caspar decided to 
 take Winn with him on his raft voyage down the 
 Mississippi. 
 
 " If I find a good chance to place the boy in a 
 first-class school in one of the large cities after the 
 voyage is ended I shall do so," said the Major. 
 "It is only fair, though, that he should have a 
 chance to see and learn something of the world 
 first. After all, there is nothing equal to travel as 
 an educator. I honestly believe that the war did 
 more in four years towards educating this nation 
 by stirring its people up and moving large bodies 
 of them to sections remote from their homes than 
 all our colleges have in fifty." 
 
 " But you mean that Winn shall go to college, 
 of course ?" said Mrs. Caspar, a little anxiously. 
 
 "If he wants to, and shows a real liking for 
 study," was the reply ; " but not unless he does. 
 College is by no means the only place where a boy 
 can receive a liberal education. He may acquire 
 
Raftmates : A. Story of the Great River. 9 
 
 just as good a one in practical life if he is 
 thoroughly interested in what he is doing and has 
 an ambition to excel. I believe Winn to be both 
 ambitious and persevering ; but he is impulsive, 
 easily influenced, and impatient of control. He 
 has no idea of that implicit obedience to orders 
 that is at the foundation of success in civil life as 
 well as in the army ; and, above all, he is possessed 
 of such an inordinate self-conceit that if it is not 
 speedily curbed by one or more severe lessons, it 
 may lead him into serious trouble." 
 
 "Oh, John!" expostulated the mother. " Do 
 you realize that you are saying these horrid things 
 about our own boy our Winn ?" 
 
 "Indeed I do, dear," answered the Major, 
 smiling ; " and it is because he is our boy, whom 
 I love better than myself, that I am analyzing his 
 character so carefully. He has the making of a 
 splendid fellow in him, together with certain 
 traits that might easily prove his ruin." 
 
 " Well," replied Mrs. Caspar, in a resigned tone, 
 " perhaps it will do him good to go away and be 
 alone with you for a while. It is very hard to 
 realize, though, that my little Winn is sixteen years 
 old and almost a man. But, John, you won t let 
 him run any risks, or get into any danger, will 
 you ?" 
 
 " Not knowingly, my dear, you may rest as- 
 
10 Raftmates : 
 
 snred," answered the Major. But he smiled as he 
 thought how impossible it was to keep boys from 
 running risks and getting into all sorts of danger 
 ous positions. 
 
 So it was decided that Winn should form one of 
 the crew of the Venture whenever the raft should 
 be ready to start on its long voyage; and ever 
 since learning this decision the boy had been in a 
 fever of impatience to be off. So full was he of 
 anticipations concerning the proposed journey that 
 he could talk and think of nothing else. Thus, 
 after a month of tiresome delay, he was in such an 
 uncomfortable frame of mind that it was a positive 
 trial to have him about the house. For this reason 
 he was encouraged to spend much of his time 
 aboard the raft, and was even allowed to eat and 
 sleep there whenever he chose. At length he 
 reached the point of almost quarrelling with his 
 sister, whom he loved so dearly ; but he had hardly 
 plunged into the woods, after leaving her on the 
 raft, before he regretted his unkind words and 
 heartily wished them unsaid. He hesitated and 
 half turned back, but his " pride," as he would 
 have called it, though it was really nothing but 
 cowardice, was too strong to permit him to humble 
 himself just yet. So, feeling very unhappy, he 
 tramped moodily on through the woods, full of 
 bitter thoughts, angry with himself and all the 
 
A Story of the Great River. 11 
 
 world. Yet if any one had asked him what it was 
 all about, he could not have told. 
 
 Winn took a long circuit through the silent 
 forest, and by the time he again reached the river- 
 bank, coining out just above the mill, he had 
 walked himself tired, but into quite a cheerful 
 frame of mind. The mill was shut down for the 
 night, its workers had gone home, and not a sound 
 broke the evening stillness. The boy sat on a pile 
 of slabs for a few minutes, resting, and watching 
 the glowing splendor of sunset as reflected in the 
 waters of the stream at his feet. At length he 
 started up and was about to go to the house, where, 
 as he had decided, his very first act would be to 
 ask Elta s forgiveness. The house stood some dis 
 tance from the river-bank, and was hidden from it 
 by the trees of a young apple orchard. As Winn 
 rose to his feet and cast a lingering glance at the 
 wonderful beauty of the water, he noticed a 
 familiar black object floating amid its splendor of 
 crimsons and gold. 
 
 " I wonder how that log got out of the boom ?" 
 he said, half aloud. " Why, there s another and 
 another ! The boom must be broken." 
 
 Yes, the boom of logs, chained together end to 
 end and stretched completely across the creek to 
 hold in check the thousands of saw-logs that filled 
 the stream farther than the eye could see, had 
 
12 ftaftmates : 
 
 parted near the opposite bank. The end thus loos- 
 ened had swung down -stream a little way, and 
 there caught on a snag formed of a huge, half- 
 submerged root. It might hold on there indef 
 initely, or it might get loose at any moment, swing 
 wide open, and set free the imprisoned wealth of 
 logs behind it. As it was, they were beginning to 
 slip through the narrow opening, and those that 
 had attracted Winn s attention were sliding down 
 stream as stealthily as so many escaped convicts. 
 
 The boy s first impulse was to run towards the 
 house, calling his father and the mill-hands as he 
 went. His second, and the one upon which he 
 acted, was to mend the broken boom and capture 
 the truant logs himself. "There is no need of 
 troubling father, and I can do it alone better than 
 any number of those clumsy mill-hands," he 
 thought. " Besides, there is no time to spare ; for 
 if the boom once lets go of that snag, we shall lose 
 half the logs behind it." 
 
 Thus thinking, Winn ran around the mill and 
 sprang aboard the raft that lay just below it. 
 Glancing about for a stout rope, his eye lighted on 
 the line by which the raft was made fast to a tree. 
 "The very thing!" he exclaimed. "While it s 
 aground here the raft doesn t need a cable any more 
 tli an I need a check-rein, and I told father so. He 
 said there wasn t any harm in taking a precaution, 
 
A Story of ike Great River. 13 
 
 and that the water might rise unexpectedly. As if 
 there was a chance of it ! There hasn t been any 
 rain for two months, and isn t likely to be any for 
 another yet to come." 
 
 While these thoughts were spinning through the 
 boy s brain, he was casting loose the cable at both 
 ends and stowing it in his own little dugout that 
 was moored to the outer side of the raft. Then 
 with strong deep strokes he paddled swiftly up 
 stream towards the broken boom. After fifteen 
 minutes of hard work he had secured one end of 
 the cable to that part of the boom resting against 
 the snag, carried the other to and around a tree on 
 the bank, back again to the boom, and then to the 
 inshore end of the broken chain. Thus he not 
 only secured the boom against opening any wider, 
 but closed the exit already made. 
 
 " That s as good a job as any of them could have 
 done," he remarked to himself, regarding his work 
 through the gathering gloom with great satisfac 
 tion. " Now for the fellows that got away." 
 
 It was a much harder task to capture and tow 
 back those three truant logs than it had been to re 
 pair the boom. It was such hard work, and the dark 
 ness added so much to its difficulties, that almost 
 any other boy would have given it up in despair, and 
 allowed the three logs to escape. But Winn Caspar 
 was not inclined to give up anything he had once 
 
14 Raftmates : 
 
 undertaken. Having determined to do a certain 
 thing, he would stick to it " like a dog to a root," 
 as one of the mill-hands had said of him. So those 
 logs had to go back inside of that boom, because 
 Winn had made up his mind that they should ; 
 but they went so reluctantly, and gave him so 
 much trouble, that it was long after dark and some 
 hours past supper- time before the job was com 
 pleted. 
 
 When Winn at length returned to the raft he 
 was wet, tired, and hungry, though very proud of 
 his accomplished task. He was shivering too, now 
 that his violent exertions were ended, for the sky 
 had become overcast, and a chill wind was moan 
 ing through the pine-trees. 
 
 " I wonder if I can t find something to eat 
 here?" he said to himself. "I m good and hungry, 
 that s a fact, and they must have had supper up at 
 the house long ago." Entering the " shanty," and 
 feeling carefully about, the boy at length found 
 matches and lighted a lamp. 
 
 Hello ! There was plenty to eat ; in fact, there 
 was a regular spread at one end of the table, with 
 plate, cup and saucer, knife, fork, and napkin, all 
 neatly arranged as though he were expected. 
 "What does it mean?" thought Winn; and then 
 his eye fell on a bit of folded paper lying in the 
 plate. It was a note which read as follows : 
 
A Story of ike Great River. Id 
 
 BROTHER, As you didn t come home 
 to supper, I thought perhaps you were going to 
 spend the night on the raft, and so brought yours 
 down here. You can heat the tea on the stove. 
 I m awfully sorry I said anything to make you 
 feel badly. Please forget it, and forgive your lov 
 ing sister, ELTA." 
 
 " Bless her dear heart !" cried the boy. " She is 
 the best sister in the world. The idea of her ask 
 ing my forgiveness, when it is I who should ask 
 hers. And I will ask it, too, the very minute I see 
 her ; for I shall never be happy until we have 
 kissed and made up, as we used to say when we 
 were young ones. I guess, though, I ll eat the 
 supper she has brought me first. And that s a 
 good idea about heating the tea, too. I can get 
 dry by the stove at the same time. I ll have a 
 chance to see Elta before bedtime, and she d feel 
 badly if I didn t eat her supper anyway." 
 
 All of which goes to show how very little we 
 know of what even the immediate future may 
 bring forth, and that if we put off for a single 
 hour doing that which ought to be done at once, 
 what a likelihood there is that we may never have 
 a chance to do it. 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 A MUD-BESPATTERED ARRIVAL FROM CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ACTING upon the suggestion contained in Elta s 
 note, Winn lighted a fire in the galley stove, and 
 was soon enjoying its cheery warmth. When the 
 tea was heated, he ate heartily of the supper so 
 thoughtfully provided by the dear girl, and his 
 heart grew very tender as he thought of her and 
 of her unwearying love for him. " I ought to go 
 and find her this very minute," he said to him 
 self ; " but I must get dry first, and there probably 
 isn t any fire up at the house. 
 
 To while away the few minutes that he intended 
 remaining on the raft, Winn got one of the books 
 of exploration from a shelf in the little after-room, 
 and was quickly buried in the heart of an African 
 forest. Completely lost to his surroundings, and 
 absorbed in tales of the wild beasts and wilder men 
 of the Dark Continent, the boy read on and on 
 until the failing light warned him that his lamp 
 was about to go out for want of oil. 
 
 He yawned as he finally closed the book. " My ! 
 how sleepy I am, and how late it must be," he 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 17 
 
 said. "How the wind howls, too! It sounds as 
 if we were going to have a storm. I only hope it 
 will bring plenty of rain and high- water. Then 
 good-bye to home, and hurrah for the great river !" 
 
 By this chain of thought Winn was again re 
 minded of El tu, and of the forgiveness he had 
 meant to secure from her that evening. "It is 
 too late now, though," he said to himself. " She 
 must have gone to bed long ago, and I guess I 
 might as well do the same; but I ll see her the 
 very first thing in the morning." 
 
 With this the tired boy blew out the expiring 
 flame of his lamp, and tumbled into his bunk, 
 where in another minute he was as sound asleep 
 as ever in his life. 
 
 In the mean time the high-water for which he 
 hoped so earnestly was much nearer at hand than 
 either he or any one else supposed. The storm 
 now howling through the pines had been raging for 
 hours about the head-waters of the creek, and the 
 deluge of rain by which it was accompanied was 
 sweeping steadily down-stream towards the great 
 river. Even as Winn sat by the stove reading, the 
 first of the swelling waters began to rise along the 
 sides of the raft, and by the time the storm broke 
 overhead the Venture was very nearly afloat. 
 
 Although Winn slept too soundly to be dis 
 turbed by either wind or rain, the storm awoke 
 
18 Raftmcutes : 
 
 Major Caspar, who listened for some time to this 
 announcement that the hour for setting forth on 
 his long-projected journey was at hand. He had 
 no anxiety for the safety of the raft, for he re 
 membered the stout cable by which he had secured 
 it, and congratulated himself upon the precaution 
 thus taken. " Besides, Winn is aboard," he re 
 flected, "and he is almost certain to rouse us all 
 with the joyful news the minute he finds that the 
 raft is afloat." Thus reassuring himself, the 
 Major turned over and went comfortably to sleep. 
 
 Elta knew nothing of the storm until morning, 
 but hearing the rain the moment she awoke, she too 
 recognized it as the signal for the Ventures speedy 
 departure. From her window she had heretofore 
 been able to see one corner of the raft; but now, 
 peering out through the driving rain that caused 
 the forest depths to appear blue and dim, she could 
 not discover it. With a slight feeling of uneasi 
 ness, she hastily dressed, and went to Winn s door. 
 There was no answer to her knock. She peeped in. 
 Winn was not there, nor had the bed been occupied. 
 
 " He did spend the night on the raft, then, and 
 so of course it is all right," thought the girl, greatly 
 relieved at this discovery. " The Venture must be 
 afloat, though. I wonder if father knows it ?" 
 
 Just then Major Caspar appeared, evidently 
 prepared to face the storm. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 19 
 
 "Well, little daughter," he said, " high - water 
 has come at last, and the time of our departure is 
 at hand. I am going down to see what Winn 
 thinks of it." 
 
 " Oh, can t I go with you, papa ? I should dearly 
 love to !" cried Elta. 
 
 " Well, I don t know," hesitated the Major. " I 
 suppose you might if you were rigged for it." 
 
 This permission was sufficient, and the active 
 girl bounded away full of glee at the prospect of a 
 battle with the storm, and of surprising Winn on 
 the raft. Three minutes later she reappeared, clad 
 in rubber boots and a water-proof cloak, the hood 
 of which, drawn over her head, framed her face in 
 the most bewitching manner. 
 
 The Major attempted to protect her still further 
 with a large umbrella; but they had hardly left the 
 house before a savage gust swooped down and glee 
 fully rendered it useless by turning it inside out. 
 Casting the umbrella aside, the Major clasped Elta s 
 hand firmly in his. Then with bowed heads the 
 two pushed steadily on towards the river- bank, 
 while the wind scattered bits of their merry laugh 
 ter far and wide. 
 
 It took them but a few minutes to reach the 
 little stream, when their laughter was suddenly 
 silenced. There was the place where the Venture 
 had been put together, there was the tree to which 
 
W Baftmates : 
 
 it had been so securely moored ; but the raft that 
 had grown into being and become a familiar sight 
 at that point no longer occupied it, nor was it 
 anywhere to be seen. Only a flood of turbid 
 waters, fully two feet higher than they had been 
 the evening before, swept over the spot, and 
 seemed to beckon mockingly towards the great 
 river. 
 
 " Why, the raft has gone !" exclaimed Elta, in 
 a dismayed voice. 
 
 " It certainly has," answered the Major, grimly ; 
 " and as it cannot possibly have floated up-stream, 
 it must have gone towards the Mississippi. I only 
 hope that Winn managed in some way to check 
 and hold it before it reached the big water ; other 
 wise we may have a merry hunt for it." 
 
 While he spoke they had been hurrying to a 
 point a short distance down-stream, around which 
 the creek made a bend. From here they could 
 Command a view of half a mile of its course, and 
 jomewhere along this stretch of water they hoped 
 to see the raft safely moored. They were, how 
 ever, doomed to disappointment ; for as far as the 
 eye could see there was no sign of the missing 
 craft. Full of conjectures and forebodings of evil 
 they reluctantly turned back towards the house. 
 
 Ti;e mill-uands, some of whom were to have 
 tne cve\y of the Vev-ture, had already dis- 
 
A Story of tne Great 
 
 covered that it was gone. Now they were gathered 
 at the house awaiting the Major s orders, and eager 
 ly discussing the situation. 
 
 Mrs. Caspar, full of anxiety, met her husband 
 and daughter at the open door, where she stood, re 
 gardless of the driving rain. 
 
 " Oh, John !" she cried, " where is Winn ? What 
 has become of the raft ? Do you think anything 
 can have happened to him ?" 
 
 "Certainly not," answered the Major, reassur 
 ingly. " Nothing serious can have befallen the 
 boy on board a craft like that. As to his where^ 
 abouts, I propose to go down to the mouth of the 
 creek at once and discover them. That is, just as 
 soon as you can give me a cup of coffee and a bite 
 of breakfast, for it would be foolish to start off 
 without those. But the quicker we can get ready 
 the better. I shall go in the skiff, and take Halrna 
 and Jan with me." 
 
 Nothing so allays anxiety as the necessity for 
 immediate action, especially when such action is 
 directed towards removing the cause for alarm. 
 So Mrs. Caspar and Elta, in flying about to prepare 
 breakfast for the rescuing party, almost worked 
 themselves into a state of hopeful cheerfulness. 
 It was only after the meal had been hastily eaten, 
 and the Major with his stalwart Swedes had de 
 parted, that a reaction came, and the anxious fears 
 
Raftmates : 
 
 reasserted themselves. For hours they could do 
 nothing but discuss the situation, and watch for 
 some one to come with news. Several times dur 
 ing the morning Elta put on her water-proof and 
 went down to the mill. There she would gaze with 
 troubled eyes at the ever-rising waters, until re 
 minded that her mother needed comforting, when 
 she would return to the house. 
 
 On one of these occasions the girl was surprised 
 to see a saddle-horse, bearing evidences of a hard 
 journey, standing at the hitching -post near the 
 front door. But this first surprise was as nothing 
 to the amazement with which she beheld her moth 
 er clasped in the arms of a strange young man who 
 was so bespattered with mud that his features were 
 hardly recognizable. Mrs. Caspar was laughing 
 and crying at the same time, while both she and 
 the young man were talking at once. Near them, 
 and regarding this tableau with the utmost grav 
 ity, was a powerful - looking bull -dog, who would 
 evidently be pure white when washed. 
 
 For a full minute Elta stood in the doorway 
 gazing wonderingly at this strange scene. Then 
 her mother caught sight of the girl s wide-eyed 
 bewilderment, and burst into a fit of laughter that 
 was almost hysterical. 
 
 " It s your uncle William !" she cried, as soon 
 as she could command her voice. "My little 
 
A Story of tlw Great Rwer. 23 
 
 brother Billy, whom I haven t seen for twelve 
 years, and he has just come from California. Give 
 him a kiss, dear, and tell him how very glad we 
 are to see him." 
 
 Then Elta was in turn embraced by the mud- 
 bespattered young man, who gravely announced 
 that he should never have recognized her. 
 
 " No wonder, for she was only a baby when you 
 last saw her !" exclaimed Mrs. Caspar ; " and I m 
 sure I should never have recognized you but for 
 your voice. I don t know how you look even now, 
 and I sha n t until you wash your face." 
 
 " What s the matter with my face ? Is it dirty? 
 asked the young man. 
 
 For answer Mrs. Caspar led him in front of a 
 mirror. 
 
 " Well, I should say it was dirty ! In fact, dirty 
 is no name at all for it !" he laughed. " I believe 
 I look about as bad as Binney Gibbs* did when 
 he covered himself with mud and glory at the 
 same time, or rather when his mule did it for 
 him." 
 
 " Who is Binney Gibbs ?" asked both Mrs. Cas 
 par and Elta. 
 
 " Binney ? Why, he is a young fellow, about 
 Winn s age, who went across the plains with me 
 
 * See Campmates, by the same Author. 
 
24 RaftTnates : A Story of the Great jRiver. 
 
 a year ago. By- the- way, where is Winn ? I want 
 to see the boy. And where is the Major ?" 
 
 Then, as Mrs. Caspar explained the absence of 
 her husband and son, all her anxieties returned, so 
 that before she finished her face again wore a very 
 sober and troubled expression. 
 
 "So that is the situation, is it?" remarked the 
 new-comer, reflectively. " I see that Winn is not 
 behind his age in getting into scrapes. He reminds 
 me of another young fellow who went campmates 
 with me on the plains, Glen Matherson no, Eddy. 
 No; come to think of it, his name is Elting. Well, 
 any way, he had just such a habit of getting into 
 all sorts of messes ; but he always came out of 
 each one bright and smiling, right side up with 
 care, and ready for the next." 
 
 " He had names enough, whoever he was," said 
 Elta, a little coldly ; for it seemed to her that this 
 flippant young uncle was rather inclined to dis 
 parage her own dear brother. " Yes, he certainly 
 had names to spare ; but if he was half as well 
 able to take care of himself as our Winn is, no one 
 ever had an excuse for worrying about him." 
 
 " No, indeed !" broke in the young man, eagerly ; 
 " but I tell you he was Why, you just ought to 
 have seen him when " 
 
 " Here comes father !" cried Elta, joyfully, run 
 ning to throw open the door as she spoke. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BRACKETT STARTS DOWN THE RIVER. 
 
 IT needed but a glance at Major Caspar s face, as 5 
 dripping and weary, he entered the house, to show 
 that his search for the raft had been fruitless. His 
 wife s mother-instinct translated his expression at 
 once, and the quick tears started to her eyes as she 
 exclaimed, 
 
 u My boy ! What has happened to him ?" 
 "Nothing serious, you may rest assured, my dear," 
 replied the Major. " I have not seen him ; but I 
 have heard of the raft, and there is no question as 
 to its safety. We reached the mouth of the creek 
 without discovering a trace of it. Then we went 
 down the river as far as the Elbow, where we 
 waited in the slack-water to hail up-bound steam 
 boats. The first had seen nothing of the raft ; but 
 the second, one of the 4 Diamond Jo boats, reported 
 that they had seen such a raft one with three 
 shanties on it at daybreak, in the Slant Cross 
 ing, ten miles below. If I could have got a down 
 river boat I should have boarded her and gone in 
 pursuit, sending the men back to tell you what 
 
26 Raftmates : 
 
 I had done. As we were unable to hail the only 
 one that passed, I gave it up and came back to 
 report progress." 
 
 " Oh, I am so glad you did !" cried Mrs. Caspar. 
 
 " So am I," said the young stranger, speaking 
 for the first time since the Major s entrance. The 
 latter had glanced curiously at him once or twice 
 while talking to his wife, but without a gleam of 
 recognition. Now, as he looked inquiringly at him 
 again, Mrs. Caspar exclaimed : 
 
 "Why, John, don t you know him? It s Will 
 iam my own brother William, just come from 
 California." 
 
 " So it is," replied the Major, giving the young 
 man a hearty hand -shake "so it is, William 
 Brackett himself. But, my dear fellow, I must con 
 fess I was so far from recognizing you that I 
 thought your name was " 
 
 " Mud I reckon," interrupted the other, laugh 
 ing; "and so it will be before long, if I don t 
 get a chance to clean up. But, Major, by the 
 time both of us are wrung out and dried, and sister 
 has looked up some dinner, I ll be ready to unfold 
 a plan that will make things look as bright for you 
 and Winn and the rest of us as the sun that s 
 breaking away the clouds is going to make the 
 sky directly." 
 
 Mrs. Caspar s brother William, " Billy Brackett," 
 
A Story of the Great River. 37 
 
 as all his friends called him, was a young civil en 
 gineer of more than usual ability. He had already 
 gained a larger stock of experience and seen more 
 of his own country than most men of his age, 
 which was about twenty-six. From government 
 work in the East and on the lower Mississippi he 
 had gone to the Kansas Pacific Railway, been de 
 tailed to accompany an exploring party across the 
 plains, and, after spending some time on the Pacific 
 coast, had just returned to the Mississippi Yalley 
 out of a job, to be sure, but with the certainty of 
 obtaining one whenever he should want it. From 
 the moment of leaving San Francisco he had in 
 tended making the Caspars a visit, and had directed 
 his journey towards their home. In Chicago he 
 had run across an engineering friend named Ho- 
 bart, who was at that moment regretting the press 
 ure of business that forbade his trying for what 
 promised to be a most profitable contract. It was 
 one for furnishing all the bridge timber to be used 
 in the construction of a new railway through Wis 
 consin. The bids were to be opened in Madison 
 two days later. Acting upon the impulse of the 
 moment, Billy Brackett hastened to that city and 
 tendered a bid for the contract, which, to his sur 
 prise, was accepted. 
 
 In doing this the young engineer had counted 
 upon the assistance of his brother-in-law, from 
 
88 Raftmates : 
 
 whose mill he expected to obtain the timber he 
 had thus contracted to furnish. As the work must 
 be begun immediately, he hurried on to the Major s 
 house with an offer of partnership in this promis 
 ing undertaking, and arrived as we have seen. 
 
 " It s a big thing Major," the young man said in 
 conclusion, after explaining these details at the 
 dinner-table ; " and it s not only a big thing in it 
 self, but it will lead to other contracts equally 
 good." 
 
 " I should like nothing better than to join you in 
 such an enterprise Billy," replied the Major ; " but 
 I don t see how I can go into it just now, with this 
 affair of Winn and the raft on my hands. You say 
 the work must be begun at once ?" 
 
 " Yes. It really should be started this very day, 
 and it can, if you ll agree to the rest of my plan. 
 You see, I ve only told you the half I thought out 
 before getting here. Since then I have added as 
 much more, which is something like this: Sup 
 pose you and I change places. You take my horse 
 and go to Madison in the interests of the con 
 tract, while Bim and I will take your skiff and 
 start down the river in the interests of Winn and 
 the raft. You know a heap more about getting 
 out bridge timber than I do, while I expect I 
 know more about river rafting than you do. Not 
 hat I m anything of a raftsman," he added, mod 
 
A Story of the Great River. 29 
 
 estly, " but I picked up a good bit of knowledge 
 concerning the river while on that government job 
 down in Arkansas. If you ll only give me the 
 chance, I ll guarantee to find the raft and navigate 
 it to any port you may choose to name Dubuque, 
 St. Louis, Cairo, New Orleans, or even across the 
 briny with such a chap as I know your Winn 
 must be for a mate. When we reach our destina 
 tion we can telegraph for you, and you can arrange 
 the sale of the ship and cargo yourself. As for 
 me, I ve had so much of dry land lately that 
 I m just longing for a home on the rolling deep, 
 the life of a sailor free, and all that sort of 
 thing. What do you say? Isn t my scheme a 
 good one?" 
 
 "I declare I believe it is !" exclaimed the Major, 
 who had caught a share of his young kinsman s 
 enthusiasm, and whose face had visibly brightened 
 during the unfolding of his plans. "Not only 
 that, but I believe your companionship with Winn 
 on this river trip, and your example, will be infi 
 nitely better for him than mine. I have noticed 
 that young people are much more apt to be in 
 fluenced by those only a few years older than 
 themselves than they are by persons whose ideas 
 they may regard as antiquated or old-fogyish." 
 
 " Oh, papa, how can you say so ?" cried Elta, 
 springing up and throwing her arms about his 
 
SO Raftmates : 
 
 neck. " How can you say that you could ever be 
 an old fogy?" 
 
 " Perhaps I m not, dear, to you," answered the 
 Major, smiling at his daughter s impetuosity ; "but 
 to young fellows mingling with the world for the 
 first time nothing pertaining to the past seems of 
 any value as compared with the present or imme 
 diate future. Consequently a companion who is 
 near enough of an age to sympathize with the pur 
 suits and feelings of such a one can influence him 
 more strongly than a person whose thoughts are 
 oftener with the past than with the future." 
 
 " I can t bear to hear you talk so, husband," said 
 Mrs. Caspar. " As if our Winn wouldn t be more 
 readily influenced by his own father and mother 
 than by any one else in the world ! At the same 
 time, I think William s plan well worth considering, 
 for I have hated the idea of that raft trip for you. 
 I have dreaded being left alone here with only 
 Elta, too, though I wouldn t say so when I thought 
 there wasn t anything else to be done." 
 
 With this unanimous acceptance of the young 
 engineer s plan, it took but a short time to arrange 
 its details, and before dark everything was settled. 
 The Major was to leave for Madison the next morn 
 ing, while Billy Brackett was to start down the 
 creek that very evening, so as to be ready at day 
 light to begin his search for the missinsr raft at the 
 
A Story of the Great fiiver. 31 
 
 point where it had been last reported. By his own 
 desire he was to go alone in the skiff, except for 
 the companionship of his trusty Bim, who made a 
 point of accompanying his master everywhere. 
 The young man was provided with an open letter 
 from Major Caspar, giving him full authority to 
 take charge of the raft and do with it as he saw fit. 
 
 Both Mrs. Caspar and Elta wrote notes to Winn, 
 and gave them to Billy Brackett to deliver. The 
 major also wrote a line of introduction to an old 
 soldier who had been his most devoted follower 
 during the war. He was now living with a mar 
 ried niece near Dubuque, Iowa, and might possibly 
 prove of assistance during the search for the raft. 
 
 Thus equipped, provided with a stock of provi 
 sions, and a minute description of both the raft 
 and of Winn, whom he did not hope to recognize, 
 the young engineer and his four-footed companion 
 set forth soon after supper on their search for the 
 missing boy. An hour later they too were being 
 swept southward by the resistless current of the 
 great river. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 HOW THE VOYAGE WAS BEGUN 
 
 WHEN Winn Caspar turned into his comfort 
 able bunk aboard the raft on the night of the 
 storm, it never once occurred to him that the 
 Venture might float before morning. She never 
 had floated, and she seemed so hard and fast 
 aground that he imagined a rise of several feet of 
 water would be necessary to move her. It had 
 not yet rained where he was, and the thought that 
 it might be raining higher up the stream did not 
 enter his mind. So he went comfortably to bed, 
 and slept like a top for several hours. Finally, he 
 was awakened so suddenly that he sprang from the 
 bunk, and by the time his eyes were fairly opened, 
 was standing in the middle of the floor listening 
 to a strange creaking and scratching on the roof 
 above his head. It had aroused him, and now as 
 he listened to it, and tried in vain to catch a single 
 gleam of light through the intense darkness, it 
 was so incomprehensible and uncanny, that brave 
 boy as he was, he felt shivers creeping over his 
 arms and back. 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great Jtiver. S3 
 
 Could the sounds be made by an animal ? Winn 
 knew there were wild - cats and an occasional 
 panther in the forests bordering the creek. If it 
 was caused by wild-cats there must be at least a 
 dozen of them, and he had never heard of as many 
 as that together. Besides, wild-cats wouldn t make 
 such sounds. They might spit and snarl ; but 
 certainly no one had ever heard them squeak and 
 groan. All at once there came a great swishing 
 overhead and then all was still, save for the howl 
 ing of the wind and the roar of a deluge of rain 
 which Winn now heard for the first time. 
 
 The boy felt his way into the forward room and 
 opened the door to look out, but was greeted by 
 guch a fierce rush of wind and rain that he was 
 thankful for the strength that enabled him to close 
 it again. Mingled with the other sounds of the 
 storm, Winn now began to distinguish that of 
 waves plashing on the deck of the raft. Certainly 
 his surroundings had undergone some extraordi 
 nary change since he turned in for the night, but 
 what it wae passed the boy s comprehension. 
 
 After a long search he found a box of matches 
 and lighted the lamp, forgetting that all its oil 
 had been exhausted the evening before. It burned 
 for a few minutes with a sickly flame, and then 
 went out. Even that feeble light had been a com 
 fort. It had showed him that everything was still 
 
$4 Eaftmates : 
 
 all right inside the " shanty," besides enabling him 
 to find and put on the clothes that he had hung 
 near the stove to dry. As he finished dressing 
 and was again standing in utter darkness puzzling 
 over his situation, he was nearly paralyzed by a 
 blinding glare of light that suddenly streamed into 
 the window nearest him. It was accompanied by 
 the hoarse roar of steam, a confusion of shoutings, 
 and the loud clangor of bells. Without a thought 
 of the weather, Winn again flung open the door 
 and rushed into the open air. So intense and 
 dazzling was the flood of yellow light, that he 
 seemed to be gazing into the crater of an active 
 volcano. It flashed by as suddenly as it had ap 
 peared, and the terrified boy became aware that a 
 big steamboat was slipping swiftly past the raft, 
 but a few feet from it. The bewildering glare 
 had come from her roaring furnaces ; and had not 
 their doors been thrown open just when they were, 
 she would have crashed at full speed into the 
 raft, with such consequences as can easily be 
 imagined. As it was she was barely able to sheer 
 off in time, and a score of voices hurled back angry 
 threats at the supposed crew of the raft, whose 
 neglect to show a lantern had so nearly led to 
 death and destruction. 
 
 So long as he could detect the faintest twinkle 
 of light from the rapidly receding boat, or hear 
 
A Story of the Great River. S5 
 
 the measured coughings of her exhausted steam, 
 Winn stood gazing and listening, regardless of the 
 rain that was drenching him to the skin. He was 
 overwhelmed by a realization of his situation. 
 That steamboat had told him as plainly as if she 
 had spoken that the Venture was not only afloat, 
 but had in some way reached the great river, and 
 was drifting with its mighty current. He had no 
 idea of how long he had thus drifted, nor how far 
 he was from home. He only knew that the dis 
 tance was increasing with each moment, and that 
 until daylight at least he was powerless to help 
 himself. 
 
 As he turned towards the door of the " shanty," 
 he stumbled over something, which, by stooping, 
 he discovered to be the branch of a tree. To the 
 keen-witted boy this was like the sight of a printed 
 page. 
 
 " That accounts for the noise on the roof that 
 woke me," he said to himself. "The raft was 
 passing under those low branches at the mouth of 
 the creek, and I can t be more than a mile or so 
 from there now." 
 
 For an instant the idea of paddling home in his 
 canoe and leaving the raft to its fate flashed 
 across his mind, but it was dismissed as promptly 
 as it had come. "Not much I won t!" he said, 
 aloud. " I ve shipped for the voyage, and I m 
 
86 Raftmates : 
 
 going to see it through in spite of everything. 
 Besides, it s my own fault that I m in this fix. If 
 I hadn t carried away that cable this thing never 
 could have happened. What a fool I was! But 
 who would have supposed the water could rise so 
 quickly ?" 
 
 The thought of his little dugout caused the boy 
 to wonder if it were still attached to the raft where 
 he had made it fast the evening before. Again 
 he ventured outside to look for the canoe, but the 
 darkness was so dense and the violence of the 
 storm so bewildering that, after a narrow escape 
 from stepping overboard, he realized that without 
 a light of some kind the undertaking was too 
 dangerous. " There must be a lantern some 
 where," he thought. " Yes, I remember seeing 
 one brought aboard." Finally he discovered it 
 hanging near the stove, and, to his joy, it was full 
 of oil. By its aid his search for the canoe was 
 successful, and he was delighted to find it floating 
 safely alongside, though half full of water, and in 
 danger of being stove against the timbers of the 
 raft by the waves that were breaking on deck. 
 With infinite labor he at length succeeded in haul 
 ing the little craft aboard and securing it in a 
 place of safety. Then, though he would gladly 
 have had the comfort of a light in the " shanty," 
 the thought of his recent narrow escape warned 
 
A Story of the Great River. 97 
 
 him to guard against another similar danger by 
 running the lantern to the top of the signal-pole, 
 arid leaving it there as a beacon. 
 
 He could do nothing more ; and so, drenched, 
 chilled, and weary, the lonely lad crept back into 
 the " shanty." How dreary it was to be its sole 
 occupant ! If he only had some one to talk, plan, 
 and consult with ! He felt so helpless and insig 
 nificant there in the dark, drifting down the great 
 river on a raft that, without help, he was as in 
 capable of managing as a baby. What ought he 
 to do ( What should he do ? It was so hard to 
 think without putting his thoughts into words. 
 Even Elta s presence and counsel would be a com 
 fort, and the boy laughed bitterly to recall how 
 often he had treated the dear sister s practical 
 common -sense with contempt because she was 
 only a girl. Now how gladly would he listen to 
 her advice ! It was pretty evident that his self- 
 conceit had received a staggering blow, and that 
 self-reliance would be thankful for the backing 
 of another s wisdom. 
 
 As Winn sat by the table, forlorn and shivering, 
 it suddenly occurred to him that there was no 
 reason why he should not have a fire. There was 
 plenty of dry wood. How stupid he had been 
 not to think of it before ! Acting upon this idea, 
 he quickly had a cheerful blaze snapping and 
 
38 Raftmates : 
 
 crackling in the little stove, which soon began to 
 diffuse a welcome warmth throughout the room. 
 By a glance at his watch a small silver one that 
 had been his father s when he was a boy Winn 
 found the night to be nearly gone. He was greatly 
 comforted by the thought that in less than two 
 hours daylight would reveal his situation and give 
 him a chance to do something. Still, the lonely 
 waiting was very tedious, the boy was weary, and 
 the warmth of the fire made him sleepy. At first 
 he struggled against the overpowering drowsiness, 
 but finally he yielded to it, and, with his head sunk 
 on his folded arms, which rested on the table, was 
 soon buried in a slumber as profound as that of 
 the earlier night. 
 
 At daylight the unguided raft was seen in the 
 " Slant Crossing " by the crew of an up-bound 
 steamboat, and they wondered at the absence of all 
 signs of life aboard it. Every now and then the 
 drifting mass of timber touched on some sand-bar 
 or reef, but the current always swung it round, so 
 that it slid off and resumed its erratic voyage. At 
 length, after floating swiftly and truly down a 
 long straight chute, the Venture was seized by an 
 eddy at its foot, revolved slowly several times, 
 and then reluctantly dragged into a false channel 
 on the western side of a long, heavily - timbered 
 island. Half-way down its length the raft 
 
A Story of the Great River. 39 
 
 " saddle-bagged," as the river men say, or floated 
 broadside on, against a submerged rock. It struck 
 fairly amidship, and there it hung, forming a 
 barrier, around the ends of which the hurrying 
 waters laughed and gurgled merrily. 
 
 With the shock of the striking Winn awoke, 
 straightened himself, and rubbed his eyes, wonder 
 ing vaguely where he was and what had happened. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MR GILDER AND HIS RUDE RECEPTION. 
 
 AFTER emerging from the "shanty," it did not 
 take the solitary occupant of the raft long to dis 
 cover the nature of his new predicament. The 
 water was sufficiently clear for him to make out 
 an indistinct outline of the rock on which the raft 
 was hung, and as the rain was still falling, he 
 quickly regained the shelter of the " shanty," there 
 to consider the situation. It did not take him 
 long to make up his mind that this was a case in 
 which assistance was absolutely necessary, and that 
 he must either wait for it to come to him or go 
 in search of it. First of all, though, he must have 
 something to eat. He had no need to look at his 
 watch to discover that it was breakfast-time. The 
 condition of his appetite told him that. 
 
 Now Winn had never learned to cook. He had 
 regarded that as an accomplishment that was well 
 enough for girls to acquire, but one quite beneath 
 the notice of a man. Besides, cooking was easy 
 enough, and any one could do it who had to. It 
 was only necessary to put things into a pot and let 
 
Raftmates : A Story of ike Great Ewer. 41 
 
 them boil, or into an oven to bake. Of course 
 they must be watched and taken from the stove 
 when done, bat that was about all there was to 
 cooking. There was a sack of corn-meal in the 
 " shanty," and a jug of maple syrup. A dish of 
 hot mush would be the very thing. Then there 
 was coffee already ground; of course he would 
 have a cup of coffee. So the boy made a roaring 
 fire, found the coffee-pot, set it on the stove, and 
 filled a large saucepan with corn-meal. 
 
 " There may be a little too much in there," he 
 thought; "but I can save what I can t eat now 
 for lunch, and then fry it, as mother does." 
 
 Having got thus far in his preparations, he 
 took a bucket and went outside for some water 
 from the river. Here he remained for a few min 
 utes to gaze at a distant up-bound steamboat, and 
 wondered why he had not noticed her when she 
 passed the raft. Although the river seemed some 
 what narrower than he thought it should be, he 
 had no idea but that he was still in its main chan 
 nel, and that the land on his left was the Wiscon 
 sin shore. 
 
 Still wondering how he could have missed see 
 ing, or at least hearing, the steamboat, the boy re- 
 entered the " shanty." Thinking of steamboats 
 rather than of cooking, he began to pour water 
 into the saucepan of meal, which at once began to 
 
42 Raftmates : 
 
 run over. Thus recalled to his duties, he removed 
 half of the wet meal to another pan, filled it with 
 water, and set both pans on the stove. Then 
 he poured a stream of cold water into the coffee 
 pot, which by this time was almost red-hot. The 
 effect was as distressing as it was unexpected. A 
 cloud of scalding steam rushed up into his face 
 and filled the room, the coffee-pot rolled to the 
 floor with a clatter, and there was such a furious 
 hissing and sputtering that poor Winn dropped 
 his bucket of water and staggered towards the 
 door, fully convinced that he was the victim of a 
 boiler explosion. 
 
 When the cloud of steam cleared away, the boy 
 ruefully surveyed the scene of disaster, and won 
 dered what had gone wrong. " I m sure nothing 
 of the kind ever happened in mother s kitchen," 
 he said to himself. In spite of his smarting face, 
 he determined not to be daunted by this first mis 
 hap, but to try again. So he wiped the floor 
 with a table-cloth, drew another bucket of water 
 from the river, and resolved to proceed with the 
 utmost care this time. To his dismay, as he 
 stooped to pick up the coffee-pot, he found that it 
 had neither bottom nor spout, but was a total and 
 useless wreck. " What a leaky old thing it must 
 have been," soliloquized the boy. 
 
 Just then his attention was attracted by another 
 
A Story of the Great River. 4$ 
 
 hissing sound from the stove and a smell of burn 
 ing. Two yellow streams were pouring over the 
 sides of the saucepans. 
 
 " Hello !" cried Winn, as he seized a spoon and 
 began ladling a portion of the contents from each 
 into a third pan. " How ever did these things get 
 full again ? I m sure I left lots of room in them." 
 
 At that moment the contents of all three pans 
 began to burn, and he filled them with water. A 
 few minutes later all three began to bubble over, 
 and he got more pans. Before he was through 
 with that mush, every available inch of space on 
 the stove was covered with pans of it, the dis 
 gusted cook was liberally bedaubed with it, and so 
 was the floor. The contents of some of the pans 
 were burned black ; others were as weak as gruel ; 
 all were lumpy, and all were insipid for want of salt. 
 
 For a moment Winn, hot, cross, and smarting 
 from many scalds and burns, reviewed the results of 
 his first attempt at preparing a meal with a comi 
 cal expression, in which wrath and disgust were 
 equally blended. Then, yielding to an impulse of 
 anger, he picked up one of the messes and flung 
 it, pan and all, out through the open door. He 
 was stooping to seize the next, which he proposed 
 to treat in a similar manner, when a hand was laid 
 on his shoulder, and he was almost petrified with 
 amazement by hearing a voice exclaim : 
 
44 Rctftmates : 
 
 " Hold on, young man ! One at a time is 
 enough. It s very pleasant to be greeted warmly, 
 but there is such a thing as too warm a reception. 
 I ll allow you didn t see me coming, though if I 
 thought you did, I d chuck you overboard for that 
 caper." 
 
 The speaker, who stood in the doorway striving 
 to remove the mess of sticky mush that had struck 
 him full in the breast and now covered a large 
 portion of his body, including his face, was a man 
 of middle age and respectable appearance, clad in 
 a rubber suit and a slouched hat. 
 
 Filled with shame and contrition at this unex 
 pected result of his foolish action, Winn was pro 
 fuse in his apologies, and picking up the useful 
 table-cloth that had already served him in one 
 emergency, stepped forward with an offer of as 
 sistance. The stranger waved him back, and re 
 moved the greater part of the mess by taking off 
 his rubber coat. At the same time he said : 
 
 " There s no harm done, and worse might have 
 happened. You might have been pitching stove 
 lids, or hot soup, or knives and forks, you know. 
 So, you see, I m to be congratulated on getting off 
 as well as I have. But where is the boss of this 
 raft, and the crew ? How did you happen to run 
 in here out of the channel ? You are not alone, 
 are you ?" 
 
A Story of the Great JRiver. 46 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied Winn. " I m captain and 
 crew and everything else just at present except 
 ing cook," he added, hastily, as he noted the 
 stranger s amused glance at the stove and its sur 
 roundings. 
 
 " Who is cook, then P 
 
 " There isn t any," answered Winn ; and for 
 that reason there isn t any breakfast, nor likely to 
 be any, for I ll starve before I try my hand at it 
 again." 
 
 " There seems to be plenty of breakfast, such as 
 it is," said the stranger, gravely, indicating by a 
 glance the many pans of spoiled mush. Then see 
 ing that the boy was really in distress, and not in 
 a joking humor, he added, " But let me help you 
 set things to rights, and then I ll see if I can t 
 show you how to get up some sort of a breakfast. 
 I m not a regular cook, as perhaps you may guess; 
 but then, again, I am one, in a way, as all we river- 
 traders have to be." 
 
 " Are you a river-trader fc" asked Winn. 
 
 " Yes ; and there are three of us. But I ll tell 
 you all about it, and you shall tell me your story 
 after we ve had breakfast." 
 
 To Winn, the expeditious manner in which his 
 recent culinary disasters were repaired and a sim 
 ple but well-cooked breakfast was made ready by 
 this stranger was a source of undisguised admira- 
 
46 Raftmates : 
 
 tion. Even coffee, clear and strong, was made in 
 a tin can. One edge of the can was bent into the 
 form of a rude spout ; then it was filled two-thirds 
 with water, and set on the stove. When the water 
 came to a boil, half a cupful of ground coffee, 
 tied loosely in a bit of clean muslin, was dropped 
 into it, and allowed to boil for three minutes. A 
 kind of biscuit made of flour, water, shortening, 
 baking-powder, and salt, well mixed, and rolled 
 thin, was quickly baked, first on one side and then 
 on the other, in an iron skillet on top of the 
 stove. At the same time a single cupful of corn- 
 meal, well salted, and boiled for half an hour, fur 
 nished a large dish of smoking mush. Half a dozen 
 thin slices of bacon broiled on a toaster completed 
 what Winn enthusiastically declared was the very 
 best breakfast he had ever eaten. Still, the boy 
 was so ravenously hungry that it is probable even 
 his own burned and lumpy mixture of corn-meal 
 would not have tasted so bad as it looked. 
 
 While he was busy with the breakfast, the 
 stranger, who said his name was Gilder, talked 
 pleasantly on many subjects. At the same time he 
 managed somehow to learn all about Winn and 
 his family, the raft and how it happened to be 
 where it was, without giving a single item of in 
 formation concerning himself in return. 
 
 When Winn finally declared that he could eat 
 
A Story of ike Great Rwer. 47 
 
 no more, Mr. Gilder also pushed back his chair, and 
 
 said : 
 
 " Now, then, for business. First, I must tell you 
 that you are in a very serious predicament. I ex 
 amined the position of this raft before coming 
 aboard, and arrived at the conclusion that both it 
 and its cargo are in a fair way of becoming a total 
 loss. As soon as the river falls again, which it is 
 likely to do at any time, the raft will probably 
 break in pieces of its own weight. In that case 
 you would lose both it and your wheat. The only 
 plan I can suggest for saving the raft is to lighten 
 it until it floats clear of the rock on which it is 
 hung, by throwing the wheat overboard ; or, if you 
 can manage it, land your wheat on the island, 
 where it can remain until you can take it away. 
 Of course the decision as to which of these things 
 you will do rests entirely with yourself ; but you 
 must make up your mind quickly, for with this 
 uncertain state of water there isn t an hour to lose. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A GANG OF "RIVER-TRADERS. 1 * 
 
 FOR a whole minute Winn sat silent, while from 
 the opposite side of the table Mr. Gilder regarded 
 his perplexed countenance with an expression that 
 was not altogether pleasant. Winn, suddenly look 
 ing up from his hard thinking, was a bit startled 
 by it ; but as it instantly melted into one of smil 
 ing sympathy, his confidence in the man remained 
 unbroken. Had he seen Mr. Gilder two hours ear 
 lier, instead of one, his opinion of the individual 
 who had just prepared such a capital breakfast, 
 expressed so great friendliness, and now showed 
 him so plainly the unpleasant predicament into 
 which he had fallen, would have been decidedly 
 different. 
 
 At that time Mr. Gilder was kneeling beside an 
 opening in the floor of a log-hut, in the centre of 
 the island, and lifting from it a tray of odd-looking 
 but beautifully made tools. The hut was small 
 and rudely constructed. It was surrounded by a 
 dense forest growth, and stood in a tiny clearing 
 from which no road or trail could be seen to lead. 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 49 
 
 All its appointments were of the most primitive 
 description, and yet a single glance into its interior 
 would have impressed one with the belief that its 
 occupants were millionaires. The effect of piles 
 and stacks of greenbacks, enough to form the cap 
 ital of a city bank or till the vaults of a sub-treas 
 ury, amid such surroundings, would certainly have 
 Btartled even those accustomed to the handling of 
 great wealth. The bills, all of which were new 
 and crisp, were done up in neat packages, each of 
 which was marked with the number of hundreds 
 or thousands of dollars it contained. In one corner 
 of the room stood a small printing-press of exqui 
 site make. Besides this press, a work-bench, table, 
 and several rude stools, the single room of the hut 
 contained only the piles of greenbacks. 
 
 A man sat beside the table counting and sorting 
 a large number of bills, the worn appearance of 
 which showed them to have been in active circula 
 tion for some time. This man was small, and had 
 a weazened face devoid of hair except for a pair of 
 bushy, iron-gray eyebrows, beneath which his eyes 
 gleamed as cunningly bright as those of a fox. He 
 answered to the name of Grimshaw; and as he 
 counted bills with the deftness and rapidity of a 
 bank cashier, he also paid a certain amount of at 
 tention to the remarks of his companion, who was 
 talking earnestly. 
 
50 Haftmate* : 
 
 " I tell yon what it is, Grim," the other wag 
 saying, as he bent over the secret opening in the 
 floor, " it s high time we were moving. This is 
 a first-class location, and we ve done well here ; but 
 you know as well as I do that our business re 
 quires a pretty frequent change of scene, and I m 
 afraid we ve stayed here too long already. One of 
 those mill fellows said only yesterday that we 
 must have collected a powerful lot of stuff by this 
 time, and asked if we weren t about ready to invite 
 him up to inspect and bid on it. I told him we 
 were thinking of putting it into a raft and taking 
 it down-river. Never had such an idea, you 
 know, but the notion just popped into my head, 
 and I m not sure now but what it s as good a one 
 as we ll strike. "What do you think ?" 
 
 " It 11 take a heap of hard work, and more time 
 than I for one want to spare, to build a raft large 
 enough for our purpose," answered Grimshaw. 
 " Still, I don t know as the idea is wholly bad." 
 
 "It would take time, that s a fact," answered 
 Mr. Gilder, lifting his tray of tools to the table 
 and proceeding to polish some of them with a bit 
 of buckskin. " And it looks as though time wag 
 going to be an object with us shortly. That last 
 letter from Wiley showed that the Chicago folks 
 were beginning to sniff pretty suspiciously in this 
 direction. I ve been asked some awkward ques- 
 
A Story of the Great River. 51 
 
 tions lately, too. Yes, the more I think of it, the 
 more I am convinced that we ought to be getting 
 out of here as quickly as we can make arrange 
 ments. We must talk it over with Plater, and 
 come to some decision this very day. He s 
 Hello ! Something s up. Plater was to stay in 
 camp till I got back." 
 
 Again came the peculiar, long-drawn whistle 
 that had arrested the attention of the men, and 
 which denoted the approach of a friend. Mr. Gil 
 der stepped to the door and answered it. Then 
 he looked expectantly towards a laurel thicket that 
 formed part of the dense undergrowth surround 
 ing the hut. In a moment the dripping branches 
 were parted near the ground, and a man, emerging 
 from the bushes on his hands and knees, stood up, 
 shook himself like a Newfoundland dog, and ad 
 vanced towards the open door. He was a large 
 man with long hair and a bushy beard. He was 
 clad in flannel, jeans, and cowhide boots, and was 
 evidently of a different class from Mr. Gilder, who 
 appeared to be a gentleman, and was dressed as one. 
 
 " What s up, Plater ?" asked the latter. 
 
 " Big raft, three shanties on it, in false channel, 
 saddle-bagged on the reef pretty nigh abreast of 
 camp. Can t see nobody aboard. Reckon she 
 broke adrift from somewheres while her crew was 
 off on a frolic." 
 
52 Huftmates : 
 
 " You don t say so !" cried Mr. Gilder, excitedly. 
 " Perhaps it s the very thing we are most in need 
 of, sent by a special providence to crown our 
 labors with success. I ll go down and have a look 
 at her, while you stay here and help Grirn pack 
 up the stuff. We might as well be prepared for a 
 sudden move, and he ll tell you what we have just 
 been talking about." 
 
 So Mr. Gilder, donning his rubber coat, a gar 
 ment that Plater would have scorned to wear, left 
 the clearing through another bushy thicket on the 
 opposite side from that by which his confederate 
 had entered it. An almost undiscernible path led 
 him to the shore of the island that was washed by 
 the main channel of the river. Here he struck 
 into a plainly marked trail that followed the 
 water s edge. In this trail Mr. Gilder walked to 
 the southern end of the island, and up its other 
 gide until he reached a comfortable camp that bore 
 signs of long occupancy. It stood high on a 
 cut bank, and just below it a rude boom held a 
 miscellaneous assortment of logs, lumber, and odd 
 wreckage, all of it evidently collected from the 
 stray drift of the great river. 
 
 From the edge of the bank, a short distance 
 from this camp, the man commanded a good view 
 of the stranded raft, and for several minutes he 
 stood gazing at it. " There s the very thing to a 
 
A Story of the Great River. 53 
 
 T, that we want," he said to himself. " Not too 
 big for us to handle, and yet large enough to make 
 it seem an object for us to take it down the river. 
 I can t see what they want of three shanties, 
 though ; one ought to be enough for all the crew 
 she needs. Our first move would be to tear down 
 two of them, and lengthen the other; that alone 
 would be a sufficient disguise. We haven t got 
 her yet, though, and she isn t abandoned either, 
 for there s smoke coming from that middle shanty, 
 I reckon the cook must be aboard, and maybe he ll 
 sell the whole outfit for cash, and so give us a clear 
 title to it." Here Mr. Gilder smiled as though 
 the thought was most amusing. " I ll go off and 
 interview him anyway, and I d better be about it 
 too, for the river is still rising. She won t hang 
 there much longer, and if the fellow found his 
 raft afloat again before a bargain was made he 
 might not come to terms. In that case we should 
 be obliged to take forcible possession, which 
 would be risky. I m bound to have that raft, 
 though. It is simply a case of necessity, and 
 necessity is in the same fix we are, so far as law 
 is concerned. 
 
 While thus thinking, Mr. Gilder had stepped ^nto 
 a light skiff that was moored near the boom, and 
 was pulling towards the stranded raft. He first 
 examined its position, and assured himself that 
 
54 Raft/mates : 
 
 very little labor would be necessary to float it; 
 then he stepped aboard, and very nearly lost his 
 customary self-possession upon the receipt of 
 Winn s warm greeting. He was on the point of 
 returning it in a manner that would have proved 
 most unpleasant for poor Winn, when he discov 
 ered that his supposed assailant was only a boy, 
 and that the act was unintentional. It took the 
 shrewd man but a few minutes to discover the 
 exact state of affairs aboard the raft, and to form a 
 plan for gaining peaceful, if not altogether lawful, 
 possession of it. This plan he began to carry out 
 by the false statement of the situation made to 
 Winn at the conclusion of the last chapter. This 
 beginning was not made, however, until he had first 
 gained the lad s confidence by a deed of kindness. 
 "When Winn looked up from his hard thinking 
 he said, " I hate the thought of throwing the 
 wheat overboard, even to save the raft. There are 
 two thousand bushels of it, and I know my father 
 expects to get at least fifty cents a bushel. So it 
 would seem like throwing a thousand dollars into 
 the river. Then, again, I don t see how it will be 
 possible to land it, and so lighten the raft. It 
 would take me a month to do it alone with my 
 canoe. Besides, father is sure to set out on a hunt 
 for the raft the moment he finds it is gone, and 00 
 ie likely to come along most any time." 
 
A Story of the Great River. 55 
 
 "All the greater need for haste," thought Mr. 
 Gilder ; but aloud he said, " That is very true, but 
 in the mean time your raft will probably break up, 
 and your wheat be spilled in the river anyway. 
 Now suppose you agree to pay me and my part 
 ners a hundred dollars to get the wheat ashore for 
 you and reload it after the raft floats." 
 
 "I haven t a cent of money with me," replied 
 Winn. 
 
 " That s bad," said the other, reflectively. " It s 
 awkward to travel without money. But I ll tell 
 you what we ll do. I hate to see a decent young 
 fellow like you in such a fix, and I m willing to 
 take a risk to help him out of it. Suppose I buy 
 your wheat? I told you that I and my partners 
 were river traders. To be sure, our business is 
 mostly in logs, lumber, and the like ; but I don t 
 mind taking an occasional flyer in wheat, provided 
 they are willing. You say your father expects to 
 get fifty cents a bushel for this wheat. Now I ll give 
 you forty-five cents a bushel for it ; that is, if my 
 partners agree. That will leave five cents a bushel 
 to pay us for landing it, transferring it to some 
 other craft, and getting your raft afloat. What do 
 you say?" 
 
 " I wish I could ask father about it," hesitated 
 "Winn, to whom, under the circumstances as he sup 
 posed them to exist, the offer seemed very tempting. 
 
56 Raftmates : A /Story of the Great Eiver. 
 
 " Oh, well," sneered Mr. Gilder, " if you are not 
 man enough now to act upon your own responsi 
 bility in such an emergency, you never will be. 
 So the sooner you get home again and tie up to 
 your mother s apron -string the sooner you ll be 
 where you belong." 
 
 The taunt was as well worn as it was cruel, and 
 should have given Winn an insight into the true 
 character of his new acquaintance ; but on a boy 
 so proud of his ability to decide for himself, and 
 so ignorant of the ways of the world as this one, it 
 was sufficient to produce the desired effect. 
 
 Winn flushed hotly as he answered : " The wheat 
 is my father s, and not mine to sell ; but for the 
 sake of saving it as well as the raft, I will let you 
 have it at that price. I must have the cash, though, 
 before you begin to move it." 
 
 " Spoken like the man I took you to be," said 
 Mr. Gilder, heartily. " Now we ll go ashore and 
 see my partners. If they agree to the bargain, as 
 no doubt they will, we ll get to work at once, and 
 have your raft afloat again in no time." 
 
CHAPTER VIL1. 
 
 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE RAPT. 
 
 WHEN Winn and his new acquaintance stepped 
 outside of the " shanty," it did not seem to the 
 boy that the river was falling, or that the raft was 
 in a particularly dangerous position. He would 
 have liked to examine more closely into its condi 
 tion, but his companion so occupied his attention 
 by describing the manner in which he proposed to 
 remove the wheat, and so hurried him into the 
 waiting skiff, that he had no opportunity to 
 do so. 
 
 The " river-traders " camp was not visible from 
 the raft, nor did Mr. Gilder, who handled the oars, 
 head the skiff in its direction. He rowed diago 
 nally up-stream instead, so as to land at some dis 
 tance above it. There he asked Winn to wait a 
 few minutes until he should discover in which 
 direction his partners had gone. He explained 
 that one of them had been left in camp at a con 
 siderable distance from that point, while he and 
 the third had been rowing along the shore of the 
 island in opposite directions, searching for drift- 
 
68 Raftmatex ; 
 
 logs. Thus he alone had discovered the stranded 
 raft. Now he wished to bring them to that point, 
 that they might see it for themselves before he ex 
 plained the proposed wheat deal. With this Mr. 
 Gilder plunged directly into the tall timber, leav 
 ing Winn alone on the river-bank. 
 
 It was fully fifteen minutes before the man re 
 turned to the waiting lad, and he not only looked 
 heated but anxious. 
 
 " I can t think what has become of those fel 
 lows !" he exclaimed, breathlessly, as he wiped the 
 moisture from his forehead with a cambric hand 
 kerchief. "I ve been clear to camp without find 
 ing a trace of either of them. Now there is only 
 one thing left for us to do in order to get them 
 here quickly. You and I must start around the 
 island in opposite directions, because if we went 
 together we might follow them round and round 
 like a kitten chasing its tail. If you meet them, 
 bring them back here, and I will do the same. If 
 you don t meet them, keep on until you are half 
 way down the other side of the island, or exactly 
 opposite this point ; then strike directly into the 
 timber, and so make a short-cut back here. In 
 that way you will reach this place again as soon as 
 I, for the island isn t more than three hundred 
 yards wide just here. Be spry, now, and remember 
 that the safety of your raft depends largely upon 
 
A Story of the Great River. 59 
 
 the promptness with which we get those other fel 
 lows here." 
 
 With this Mr. Gilder began to walk rapidly 
 down the shore in the direction he had chosen. 
 Carried away by the man s impetuosity, Winn 
 did not hesitate to obey his instructions, but started 
 at once in the opposite direction. Mr. Gilder, 
 noting this by a backward glance over his 
 shoulder, instantly halted and concealed himself 
 behind a large tree-trunk. From here he peered 
 at the retreating figure of the boy until it was no 
 longer visible. Then he gave vent to the same 
 peculiar whistle with which Plater had announced 
 his own approach to the log-hut in the woods. 
 The sound was immediately answered from no 
 great distance, whereupon Mr. Gilder hastened in 
 that direction. A minute later he returned, bring 
 ing a coil of stout rope, one end of which he made 
 fast to a tree on the bank. At the same time 
 both Grimshaw and Plater appeared, each bearing 
 a large package securely wrapped in canvas on 
 his shoulder. 
 
 All three men entered the skiff and pulled out 
 to the raft, carrying the loose end of the rope with 
 them. Mr. Gilder and Grimshaw quickly returned 
 to the land, leaving the burly Plater to make a vigor 
 ous attack with an axe against the sides of one of 
 the wheat bins. He soon splintered and tore off 
 
60 Baftmates: 
 
 a board, leaving an aperture through which a broad 
 stream of wheat rushed out on the deck of the raft. 
 This Plater began to shovel overboard, working 
 with furious energy, as though combating a hated 
 enemy. In ten minutes both bins were empty, 
 and so much of the wheat had gone into the ever- 
 rising waters that the raft, which had been on the 
 point of floating when Plater began his operations, 
 now did so, and swung in close to the bank at the 
 end of its new cable. 
 
 In the mean time the other men had brought 
 several skiff-loads of their peculiar merchandise to 
 the raft, and now it took but a few minutes to 
 transfer what remained on the bank directly to it. 
 Even the tent, which had been hastily torn down, 
 together with a portion of their camp outfit, was 
 tossed aboard, and within fifteen minutes from 
 the time of Winn s departure the Venture, with 
 its new crew at the sweeps, was moving slowly out 
 from the island, and gathering impetus from the 
 current for a continuance of its eventful voyage. 
 
 Without a suspicion that the gentlemanly 
 stranger who had so kindly smoothed awav his 
 culinary difficulties, and, while apparently willing 
 to assist him, was also anxious to make a good bar 
 gain for himself, was anything but what he ap 
 peared to be, Winn made his way briskly towards 
 the head of the island. It was only after round- 
 
A Story of the Great Bvver. 61 
 
 ing it and starting down the opposite side with 
 out seeing a sign of those whom he sought that 
 he began to have misgivings. 
 
 " I wonder if it is all right ?" he said to himself. 
 "What could be the man s object in telling me 
 that the raft was in a dangerous position if she 
 isn t ? I declare I don t believe she is, though ! 
 She didn t look it when I left, and I do believe the 
 river is still rising. I wonder if I haven t done a 
 foolish thing in leaving the raft ? If I have, the 
 best thing to do now is to get back as quickly as 
 possible." 
 
 By this time the boy had worked himself into a 
 fever of apprehension, and, remembering what he 
 had been told concerning the narrowness of the 
 island, he determined to make a short-cut across it. 
 This was exactly what the far-sighted Mr. Gilder 
 had anticipated, and Winn fell an easy victim to 
 his artfully planned trap. For nearly an hour the 
 boy, versed in wood-craft as he was, wandered and 
 struggled through the dense undergrowth of that 
 island forest. Suddenly, as he burst his way through 
 a thicket, he was confronted by the log-hut so lately 
 occupied by the " river-traders." Winn shouted as 
 he approached it ; but, of course, received no reply. 
 It had the lonely look of a place long deserted, and 
 the boy paused for but a single glance into its un 
 inviting interior. Then, getting his bearings anew 
 
62 Raftmatea : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 by the sun that was beginning to struggle through 
 the clouds, he pushed his way resolutely towards 
 ihe western side of the island, which, somewhat to 
 kis surprise, he reached a few minutes later. 
 
 He emerged from the timber at the abandoned 
 camp of the traders ; but without stopping to ex 
 amine it, he ran to the water s edge, and gazed 
 anxiously both up and down stream. There was 
 no sign of the raft nor of any moving object. " It 
 must be iarther up, around that point," thought 
 Winn, and he hurried in that direction. From one 
 point to another he thus pursued his anxious way 
 until the head of the island was once more in sight. 
 Then he knew that he must have passed the place 
 where the raft had been, and that it was gone. 
 
 As a realizing sense of how he had been duped 
 and of his present situation flashed through his 
 mind, the poor boy sat down on a log, too bewil 
 dered to act, or even to think. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ALONE ON THE ISLAND. 
 
 WINN CASPAR was indeed unhappy as he sat on 
 that log and gazed hopelessly out over the spar 
 kling waters, on which the sun was now shining 
 brightly. Although he had explored only a por 
 tion of the island, he felt that he was alone on it. 
 But that was by no means the worst of the situa 
 tion. The raft in which he had taken so much 
 pride, his father s raft upon which so much de 
 pended, the raft on which he had expected to float 
 out into the great world, was gone, and he was 
 powerless to follow it. All through his own fault, 
 too ! This thought was the hardest to bear. Why, 
 even Elta would have known better. Of course 
 she would. Any one but he would, and she was 
 wiser than almost any one he knew. How dearly 
 he loved this wise little sister, and to think that he 
 had parted with her in anger! When was that? 
 Only last evening ! Impossible ! It must have been 
 weeks ago. It wasn t, though ! It was only a few 
 hours ago, and his father had hardly had time to 
 come and look for him yet. Perhaps he was even 
 
64 Raftmates : 
 
 now on his way down the river, and might be pass 
 ing on the other side of the island. 
 
 With this thought the boy sprang to his feet, 
 and hurrying to the head of the island, eagerly 
 scanned the waters of the main channel. There 
 was nothing in sight, not even a skiff or a oanoe. 
 "Even my dugout is gone, * thought Winn, \\ith a 
 fresh pang, for he was very fond of the little c *af t 
 that was all his own. Then he wondered how ae 
 should attract his father s attention, and decided 
 to build a fire, with the hope that Major Caspar 
 might come to it to make inquiries, and thus effect 
 his rescue. 
 
 Having a definite object to work for cheered 
 the boy somewhat, and his heart grew sensibly 
 lighter as he began to collect wood for his fire. 
 But how should he light it ? He had no matches. 
 For a moment this new difficulty seemed insur 
 mountable; then he remembered having seen the 
 smouldering remains of a fire at the abandoned 
 camp on the other side of the island. He must 
 go back to it at once. 
 
 Hurrying back around the head of the island, 
 Winn reached the place just in time to find a few 
 embers still glowing faintly, and after whittling 
 a handful of shavings, he succeeded, by a great ex 
 penditure of breath, in coaxing a tiny flame into 
 life. Yery carefully he piled on dry chips, and 
 
A Story of the Great River. 65 
 
 then larger sticks, until finally he had a fire 
 warranted to live through a rain-storm. Now 
 for another on the opposite side of the isl 
 and ! 
 
 He could not carry lighted sticks the way he 
 had come. It was too far. He thought he could 
 get them safely across the island, though, if he 
 only knew the most direct path. He would first 
 discover this and then return for his fire. Quite 
 early in the search he stumbled across a very nar 
 row trail that seemed to lead in the right direc 
 tion. By following it he came once more to the 
 deserted log-hut in the forest, but search through 
 the little clearing as he might, he could not see 
 that it went any farther. 
 
 Taking his bearings, after deciding to open a 
 trail of his own from there to the river, the boy 
 attacked a thicket on the eastern side of the clear 
 ing with his jack-knife. A few minutes of cutting 
 carried him through it, and, to his amazement, he 
 found himself again in an unmistakable trail. It 
 was narrow and indistinct, but it was none the less 
 a trail, leading in the right direction, and the boy 
 was woodman enough to follow it without hesita 
 tion to the river-bank. A steamboat was passing 
 the island, but though Winn waved frantically to 
 it and shouted himself hoarse, no attention was 
 paid to him. With a heavy heart he watched it 
 
66 Eaftmates : 
 
 out of sight, and then began another collection of 
 wood for his signal-fire. 
 
 When it was made, he again crossed the island, 
 selected a blazing stick from the camp-fire, and 
 started to retrace his steps. By the time he 
 reached the log-hut he found it necessary to stop 
 and renew his blaze by building a fire in the rude 
 chimney. By thus establishing a relay station he 
 finally succeeded in getting a blaze to the desired 
 spot on the channel side of the island, and in start 
 ing a brisk fire at that point. 
 
 Here the boy would have stayed and watched for 
 the craft that he fondly hoped would come to his 
 deliverance ; but it was now a long time since 
 breakfast, and his hard work had made him very 
 hungry. He might find something to eat at that 
 abandoned camp, which he had not yet examined. 
 At any rate he would go and look. So he piled 
 logs on his fire until satisfied that it would last for 
 some hours. Then picking up a bit of shingle 
 from the beach, he wrote on it with the stump of 
 a lead-pencil : 
 
 " I am on the island. Follow the trail and you 
 will find me. WINN CASPAR." 
 
 This note he stuck in a cleft sapling, from 
 which he first cut the top, and which stood so near 
 the fire that it was certain to attract attention. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 67 
 
 Then feeling that he could do nothing more in 
 that place, he set forth in search of something with 
 which to satisfy his hunger. On his way back he 
 stopped at the hut, and made a thorough but vain 
 search for food. There was not so much as would 
 have fed a mouse, and the only thing of value that 
 the boy discovered was a rusty fish-hook stuck into 
 one of the wall logs. Before leaving the hut he 
 replenished the fire in the chimney-place, thinking 
 that perhaps he might return there to sleep. Then 
 he went on to the camp. 
 
 Here Winn s search for food was as unsuccess 
 ful as it had been at the hut. He found a number 
 of cooking utensils, battered and smoked, and dis 
 covered an old axe still sticking in the log on 
 which it had been last used. He also found some 
 bits of rope and cord. He knotted together 
 enough of the latter to make a rude line, attached 
 his fish-hook to it, cut a pole, dug some bait, and 
 began to fish just above the "river-traders " boom. 
 For some time he sat there, patiently, but got no 
 bites. The poor boy began to grow desperate 
 with hunger. 
 
 " I declare ! I ve a great mind to swim for the 
 main-land," he said, aloud. " No I won t, though. 
 I can do better than that. Besides, the water is 
 cold enough to give me a cramp. I can make a raft 
 of these logs. Why didn t I think of it before ?" 
 
68 Raf inflates : 
 
 Thrusting the butt end of his pole into the soft 
 earth of the bank, and weighting it with a good, 
 sized stone, the boy went to the boom to examine 
 its contents. There were plenty of logs suitable 
 for the foundation of a raft, and more than enough 
 lumber to deck it handsomely. But what was 
 that brown stuff filling so many of the crevices 
 between the logs and timbers ? 
 
 " Wheat, as I m a living boy !" exclaimed Winn, 
 stooping and gathering some of the stuff in his 
 hands. " Wheat ! but where can it have come 
 from? Did the Venture suddenly break up and 
 go to pieces after all, as Mr. Gilder said she would ?" 
 If so, then the situation was worse than he had 
 supposed, for until now the boy had entertained 
 some hopes of being able to follow and perhaps 
 recover the raft, especially if his father should 
 come along and discover him. Bat if the raft 
 were broken up, as the presence of this wheat 
 seemed to indicate, then its loss was indeed total 
 and irreparable. 
 
 "But if they have not gone off with the raft, 
 what has become of those river traders ?" argued 
 the boy with himself. "They might have fol 
 lowed the broken sections, or even gone off on one 
 of them. I believe that s what they have done I" 
 he exclaimed aloud. That accounts for their 
 leaving in such a hurry, and taking their provisions 
 
A Story of tlie Great River. 69 
 
 with them. I didn t think that Gilder was such a 
 bad sort of a chap after all. Now he is pretty 
 sure to come back for me after he has secured what 
 he can from the wreck. But what am I to do for 
 something to eat in the mean time? If I could 
 only catch a fish !" 
 
 Just then there was a great commotion in the 
 water, and the pole left sticking in the bank be 
 gan to bend ominously. Winn sprang towards it ; 
 but as he stretched out his hand it flew back into 
 position, and the flurry in the water subsided. The 
 wretched line had parted, and the big catfish, 
 from which the boy could have made such a cap 
 ital supper, was seeking the deepest hole in the 
 river. The worst of it all was that he had taken 
 Winn s only hook with him, and so put an end 
 to any further efforts for his capture. 
 
 The boy could have cried with hunger and vex 
 ation. It wouldn t have done him any good, 
 though, and he knew it ; so he began to gather a 
 tin cup full of the water-soaked wheat instead. 
 This he set on a bed of coals to boil, and was so 
 hungry that he could not wait for it to be done, 
 but ate it half raw, without salt, butter, sugar, 
 syrup, milk, or anything that serves to render such 
 food palatable, and only partially cooked at that, 
 it still seemed to "Winn one of the best things he 
 had ever eaten, and he immediately started the 
 
70 Rdftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 cooking of another mess. There was not much of 
 the wheat in sight, and to secure a second cupful 
 the boy scraped up every grain that lie could find. 
 
 "After this comes starvation," thought "Winn ; 
 unless I can get away from this island, and I am 
 going to begin work on that raft at once." 
 
 He carefully collected every bit of rope he could 
 find, and thus secured enough to lash togethei 
 four of the largest logs. Above these he laid a 
 platform of boards, and longed for some nails with 
 which to fasten them in place. He did remark 
 ably well considering his limited means, and by 
 sunset had completed a raft that would more than 
 support his weight. If he could only keep it clear 
 of snags and reefs it would also bear him in safety 
 down the river, to some place where there were 
 suppers and breakfasts to be had. 
 
 It would not do to attempt the voyage on such 
 a frail structure in the dark, of course ; and so, at 
 sunset, Winn reluctantly began his preparations 
 for passing a night of loneliness on the island. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 A NIGHT OF STRANGE HAPPENINGS. 
 
 WINN S preparations for the night were of the 
 simplest description, because he had so little to 
 prepare. The boy tried to console himself with 
 this thought. " If I had provisions I should have 
 to cook," he said to himself ; " and if there is one 
 thing in this world meaner than another it is cook 
 ing. I never realized before what mother has to 
 go through with every day. Never complains of 
 it, either. She s a regular angel, though, and things 
 always seem to go right with her. Now with boys 
 it s just the other way. See what a fix I ve got 
 into all on account of being a boy, and trying to 
 do things. Seems to me that Gilder must have 
 been a pretty patient sort of a boy to learn to cook 
 the way he does. I wonder if he ever gets into 
 scrapes ? He d be in one if he was in my place 
 now, and I wish I knew how he d get out of it." 
 
 While thus thinking Winn was by no means 
 idle. He cut a number of bushes and leaned them 
 against the ridge-pole of the u traders " tent, the 
 frame of which they had left standing. This 
 
7$ Eaftmates : 
 
 shelter was so arranged as to form a wind-break on 
 the north side of the lire, the grateful warmth 
 being thus reflected from its inner surface. An 
 armful of twigs and another of dry grass formed 
 the boy s bed, and a drink of river- water his sup 
 per. He had thought of passing the night in the 
 log-hut ; but as darkness came on he could not bear 
 the thought of its lonesomeness. It was bad enough 
 to be alone on the river-bank, with a broad ex 
 panse of star-dotted sky to look at ; but that forlorn 
 little hut, shut in on all sides by the dark forest ! 
 Ugh ! It made him shiver to think of it. No ; 
 he was decidedly better off where he was, and even 
 if his father came along during the night, which 
 Winn did not think probable, he could not fail to 
 see the notice posted beside the signal-fire. It 
 was important that he should remain near his new 
 raft too, so that at the first streak of daylight he 
 could board it and be off. 
 
 After a while the lonely lad fell into a sleep filled 
 with troubled dreams. An owl came and hooted 
 above him; the night wind sighed weirdly through 
 the tall timber behind him ; while queer gurglings, 
 mysterious splashings, and other strange sounds 
 came from the swift-flowing river close at hand. 
 Although none of these sounds wakened the boy, 
 they tinged his dreams with their uncanniness. 
 
 For some hours he slept, and then woke with a 
 
A Story of the Great River. 78 
 
 start. He was sitting bolt upright, and felt certain 
 that something cold and wet had just touched his 
 face. He put a hand to his cheek. Yes, there was 
 a wet spot. What were those two bright points 
 shining in the dim fireglow! They looked like 
 eyes. "Winn sprang to his feet. At his movement 
 the glowing eyeballs vanished. Some animal ut 
 tered an indescribable sound, something between a 
 bark and a snarl, there was a rustling of dead 
 leaves, and then all was still. 
 
 While the boy stood trembling with the vague 
 fear that always accompanies a suspected but un 
 known danger, and staring blankly into the dark 
 ness, there came to his ears from the forest depths 
 a sound that was almost as terrifying as the recent 
 presence of the unknown animal. It seemed a 
 mingling of howls, cries, and groanings. It rose 
 and fell, now loud, and then almost inaudible ; but 
 it always came from the direction of the deserted 
 log-hut. At length it ceased, and now Winn no 
 ticed for the first time that a faint light was be 
 ginning to tinge the eastern sky above the tree- 
 tops. 
 
 " Daylight is coming," thought the boy, " and it 
 is high time for me to be off." He was glad of an 
 excuse for leaving a place that had all at once be 
 come filled with such unexplained terrors. Feeling 
 his way cautiously to the river -bank, he reached 
 
74 Raf I/mates : 
 
 the little raft without mishap. It took him some 
 time to get it clear of the boom ; but at length he 
 succeeded, and with a very decided feeling of re 
 lief he pushed off into the current, and proceeded 
 on his journey. 
 
 Winn s spirits rose as his clumsy craft moved 
 out from the heavy shadows of the island, and he 
 began to whistle to convince himself that he had 
 not been afraid of anything after all. Suddenly 
 he heard low voices close beside him, a dark object 
 dashed up to his raft, and a dazzling light was 
 flashed full in his face. The next instant two men 
 sprang to his side, threw him down, searched him for 
 arms, secured his knife, which was the only thing 
 resembling a weapon that he possessed, and forced 
 him into a large skiff containing several other men. 
 
 " Close the lantern," ordered one of these in a 
 /ow but stern voice, " and pull for that fire on 
 shore. No doubt we ll bag some more of them 
 there." Then to Winn the man said, " So you 
 thought you could give us the slip, did you, young 
 fellow? Well, you found us up too early, didn t 
 you ? Now the best thing you can do is to afford 
 us all possible aid in capturing the rest of your 
 gang. It 11 count big in your favor with the 
 Judge, I can tell you. How many are there on 
 the island?" 
 
 " I don t know what you mean " began Winn, 
 
A Story of the Great River. 75 
 
 indignantly; but a heavy hand was instantly 
 clapped over his mouth. 
 
 " Shut up !" whispered the man, hoarsely, but 
 with terrible distinctness. " If you speak another 
 loud word I ll brain you. You ll find out what I 
 mean when we ve landed you safely in Dubuque 
 jail. Now answer me in a whisper. How many 
 of your pals are on the island ?" 
 
 "I haven t any pals," replied Winn, putting as 
 much force into his whisper as he dared, "and 
 there isn t any one on the island. " This is an out 
 rage, and " 
 
 " That will do," answered the man, sternly. "If 
 that s the tone you are going to take, we don t want 
 to hear any more of it." 
 
 Just then the bow of the skiff was run on the 
 bank, and the man, grasping Winn s arm, stepped 
 ashore, saying, " Now make yourself uself ul, young 
 fellow, and lead us to your mint or den or what 
 ever you call it. If you don t want to I ll find 
 a way to compel you, and if you try any low- 
 down tricks, I ll make you wish you d never been 
 born." 
 
 " Do you mean the log-hut ?" asked Winn. 
 
 " Yes, if that s what you call it ; but you want to 
 get a move onto you in a hurry." 
 
 Bewildered and indignant as he was, Winn was 
 yet cool enough to realize the folly of resistance. 
 
76 Raftmates : 
 
 He also reflected that when these men found the 
 hut deserted, and that there was no one besides 
 themselves on the island, they would be willing to 
 listen to his story. At any rate, so long as he was 
 in their power it was best to do as they directed. 
 So, with the leader s hand still grasping his arm, 
 the boy led the way into the narrow trail that he 
 had already traversed so often. 
 
 Proceeding slowly, and with such extreme cau 
 tion that not a sound betrayed their presence, the 
 men followed in single file. At the edge of the 
 little clearing Winn halted, and was about to speak, 
 when a hand was again clapped over his mouth 
 with the force of a blow. 
 
 " Whisper !" came the order. 
 
 "Well there s your hut," whispered the boy, 
 as soon as he was given the chance, " and if 
 you find any one in it, then I m a liar, that s 
 all." 
 
 The hut was plainly visible by the firelight that 
 streamed from its open window. Winn wondered 
 at the brightness of this light, for it seemed as 
 though the fire he had left there the evening be 
 fore ought to have burned out long ago. He 
 also wondered that he did not remember hav 
 ing closed the door. As no light came from 
 its direction, it certainly appeared to be closed 
 now. As these thoughts flashed through the boy s 
 
A Story of the Great River. 77 
 
 mind, the man who held him, and who was evi 
 dently the leader of the party, whispered, 
 
 " You say there isn t anybody in there, but it 
 looks to me as if there was. Anyhow, we ll find 
 out in another minute, and if you ve led us into a 
 trap or played us false, I ll see that you swing for 
 it, or my name s not Riley. Bill, you stay here 
 and see that this chap doesn t put up any game on 
 us while we surround that den of thieves. Have 
 your guns ready for use, men." 
 
 Although all this was spoken in a whisper, 
 inaudible beyond its immediate group of hearers, 
 there was no mistaking the man s stern meaning, 
 and Winn experienced an uneasy dread such as 
 he had not heretofore felt throughout this strange 
 adventure. 
 
 Suppose there should be some one in the hut ? 
 Suppose the " river-traders " had returned to the 
 island and should resent this intrusion even to the 
 point of resisting it ? In such a case what would 
 happen to him? If his captors were triumphant 
 they would declare he had led them into a trap, 
 for doing which they had promised to hang him. 
 If, on the other hand, the " river-traders " had re 
 turned and should make a successful fight, would 
 not their wrath also be directed towards him for 
 leading their assailants to the hut ? In either case, 
 it seemed to the bewildered boy that his position 
 
78 Baftmates: 
 
 was decidedly unpleasant, and he awaited the im 
 mediate developments of the situation with no 
 little anxiety. 
 
 Those who had followed him had disappeared 
 like shadows, and Winn could not detect a sound 
 save the suppressed breathing of the man who had 
 been detailed to guard him, and who now held his 
 arm. 
 
 Suddenly a dog s bark broke the stillness, and a 
 loud challenge, followed by a pistol shot, rang out 
 through the night air. There was a confused tram 
 pling ; the forest echoed with a roar of guns ; the 
 door of the hut was burst open, and a furious rush 
 was made for the interior. 
 
 In his excitement Winn s guard loosed his hold 
 of the boy s arm and took a step forward, the 
 better to distinguish what was going on. 
 
 Winn was free, and acting upon the impulse of 
 the moment, he slipped behind a great tree-trunk, 
 Btole noiselessly a few paces farther, and then 
 dashed away with the speed of a deer back over 
 the trail leading to the river. He did not pause 
 when he reached the camp in which he had passed 
 the night so unhappily, but bounded down the 
 bank to the water s edge. Here he cast loose the 
 painter of the skiff that had brought Mr. Riley 
 and hi* men to the island, and, with a mighty 
 shove towards the channel, gave a spring that 
 
A Story of the Great River. 79 
 
 landed him at full length in its bottom. Here he 
 lay breathless and almost motionless for the next 
 thirty minutes, or until his craft had drifted below 
 the tail of the island, and was spinning down the 
 main channel of the great river. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 BILLY BRACKETT S SURPRISING SITUATION. 
 
 WHEN Billy Brackett set forth on his search 
 for a nephew and a runaway raft he did not an 
 ticipate any difficulty in finding them. The ap 
 pearance of the raft had been minutely described 
 to him, and, according to this description, it was too 
 distinctive in its character to be mistaken for any 
 thing else. Three shanties, and they of unusual 
 construction, on a raft of that size formed a pe 
 culiarity sufficient to arrest the immediate atten 
 tion of all river men. Thus the young engineer 
 felt certain that by making an occasional inquiry 
 and proceeding at a speed at least double that of 
 the raft, he could easily trace and overtake it, even 
 though it should not run aground, which he 
 thought more than likely to happen early in its 
 voyage. 
 
 So Billy Brackett rowed down the creek without 
 a trace of anxiety to mar the pleasure of the advent 
 ure into which he had so unexpectedly tumbled. 
 One peculiarity of this light-hearted young 
 man was that no proposition to leave a beaten 
 
JRaftmates : A Story of the Great River. 81 
 
 track and strike into an unexplored trail, even 
 though it led in exactly the opposite direction, 
 could be too absurd or unexpected to meet with 
 his ready approval, always providing it promised 
 plenty of adventure. At the same time he never 
 lost sight of the fact that he had a living to earn, 
 besides a professional reputation to win and main 
 tain. Consequently he generally managed to make 
 his adventures keep step with his duties. In the 
 present instance he felt that Major Caspar s aid 
 was necessary to the fulfilling of his timber con 
 tract. He also realized that the only way to ob 
 tain it was by taking his brother-in-law s place in 
 searching for the lost raft and navigating it down 
 the river to a market. He had no family ties to 
 bind him to times or places, and with Bim for 
 company he was ready to start at any moment for 
 any portion of the globe. 
 
 " Bim " was a diminutive of Cherubim, a name 
 bestowed by its present owner upon the wretched 
 puppy that he had rescued from an abandoned 
 emigrant wagon high up in the California Sierras, 
 because like Cherubim and Seraphim he " continu 
 ally did cry." The little one was nearly dead, and its 
 mother, lying beside it, was quite so, when they 
 were discovered by the tender-hearted engineer. 
 He had fought his way through a blinding snow 
 storm and high -piled drifts to the abandoned 
 
8& Raftmatea : 
 
 wagon on the chance of finding human beings in 
 distress. When he discovered only a forlorn little 
 bull-pup, he buttoned it warmly under his blanket 
 overcoat and fought his way back to camp. Dur 
 ing that struggle the helpless creature won its way 
 to Billy Brackett s heart, as all young things, hu 
 man or animal, were sure to do, and assumed a 
 place there that had never since been resigned. 
 
 From that day Bim, or "U-Bim," as he was 
 sometimes called, had so thrived under good feed 
 ing, kind care, and judicious training that when he 
 started with his master to voyage down the great 
 river he was as fine a specimen of a full-blooded 
 bull-dog as could be found in the country. He 
 was pure white, bow-legged, and broad-chested. 
 His upper lip was drawn slightly back, so as to 
 display his teeth ; but this expression of ferocity 
 was relieved by the almost human intelligence of 
 his eyes. He was absolutely fearless, but as lov 
 ing and gentle as he was brave. He understood 
 every word spoken within his hearing, and his 
 master declared that for his wisdom he ought to 
 be named " Solomon." He never made an un 
 provoked assault upon a living creature, and would 
 stand any amount of abuse from children or those 
 weaker than himself. Let an indignity be offered 
 to his beloved master in his presence, though, and 
 his fury was as terrible as that of a young lion- 
 
A 8tory of the Great River. 83 
 
 Then woe to the unfortunate in whose flesh those 
 gleaming teeth were once fastened. From the 
 vise-like grip of the powerful jaws behind them 
 nothing but death or Billy Brackett s command 
 could effect a release. 
 
 Such were the occupants of the skiff that soon 
 after dusk shot out from the mouth of the Caspar 
 Creek on the broad bosom of the great river. 
 Billy Brackett talked to his dog as he would to a 
 human companion, and at that moment he was 
 saying : 
 
 u Look here, Bim, I ve a great mind to play a 
 joke on that young nephew of ours when we find 
 him. You see, he won t know us from Adam, 
 and probably doesn t remember that he has an 
 Uncle William in the world. Now what is to hin 
 der us from working the stranger racket on him ? 
 Wrecked, or broke, or something, and want to earn 
 a passage down the river on a raft, it being easier 
 as well as more sociable and pleasanter in every 
 way than a steamboat. What s to hinder us from 
 doing it, eh ? Nothing ? Right you are, old dog, 
 and we ll do it, too, if we get the chance. Thus 
 will we discover what sort of stuff he is made of, 
 and get acquainted with his inside self, as Glen 
 Eddy used to say. So you understand, U-Bim, 
 that you are not to give us away or let on that we 
 are any kin to the Caspars. Sabe f All right. 
 
84 fiaftmates : 
 
 Now for a twenty-mile spin down-stream, and then 
 we ll hunt a place to lie by for the night." 
 
 With this the young man bent lustily to his 
 oars, while Bim sat in the stern of the skiff, alert 
 to every movement made by his master, and sway 
 ing his body like that of a genuine cockswain. 
 
 Billy Brackett recognized the " Slant Crossing," 
 when they reached it, from the description he had 
 received of its length and direction ; but below 
 that point the river for a thousand miles was a 
 blank so far as his personal knowledge of it was 
 concerned. 
 
 Although the night was dark, and there were 
 but few guide-lights on the river in those days, he 
 found no difficulty in keeping the channel until 
 the skiff passed through the chute at the head of 
 Whin s island. At this point the false channel 
 seemed, in the darkness, to be as wide and desir 
 able as the true one, and for a minute he was 
 puzzled as to which he should take. " Not that I 
 suppose it would make any great difference," he 
 remarked to Bim. "It s about time to tie up, 
 though, and we want to be sure to do that on the 
 main channel, so as not to miss a chance of seeing 
 the raft at daylight." 
 
 For answer Bim left his seat, ran to the bow of 
 the boat, uttered a short bark, and fixed his gaze 
 pointedly down-stream. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 85 
 
 " A light, as sure as you are a dog of wisdom!" 
 cried Billy Bracket!, looking in the direction thus 
 indicated. " I vow, Bim, your name ought to be 
 4 Solomon Minerva, and I must have a howl 
 engraved on your collar the first chance I get. 
 That is, if you ever arrive at the dignity of owning 
 any collar besides that old strap. Your light looks 
 as though it might proceed from a camp-fire, and 
 I reckon it s on the main channel too. At any 
 rate, we ll pull down there and make inquiries." 
 
 A few minutes later the skiff was run ashore 
 near the beacon blaze that Winn Caspar had left 
 on the eastern side of the island, and its occupants 
 were searching the vicinity for those whom Billy 
 Brackett had so confidently expected to find 
 near it. 
 
 "It is very strange," he muttered. " Some one 
 must have built this fire ; but why he did so if he 
 didn t want to camp beside it beats me. Hello ! 
 What s this ? Hooray ; we are on the right track 
 after all ! But what foolishness is that boy up to ? 
 and what can he be doing on this island ? Thirdly, 
 where is the raft ? Eh, Bim ! You haven t seen 
 a stray raft round here, have you ? No. I thought 
 you would have mentioned it if you had. So 
 he is on this island is he ? and leaves word that 
 we can find him by following the trail ? Perhaps 
 the trail leads to the raft ; but where is the trail ? 
 
86 Rafttnates : 
 
 Hello! you ve struck it, have you? Good dog! 
 Here, let me tie this bit of twine to your collar. 
 There ; now you re better than a lantern." 
 
 As we all know, the trail upon which Billy 
 Brackett and Bim were thus started led directly 
 to the log-hut in the forest. When the former 
 discovered this, he fully expected to find his 
 nephew within. To his surprise, although a fire 
 smouldered on the hearth, there was no other sign 
 of human occupancy. Then the young man 
 searched in vain for some bit of writing, such as 
 had guided him to this point. 
 
 " I declare !" he exclaimed at length ; " the 
 corollary is worse than the theorem, and things are 
 becoming so decidedly mixed that we must begin 
 to go slow. I for one propose to replenish that 
 fire, and then bunk down right here for the rest of 
 the night." 
 
 With this the young man went out into the 
 darkness and began groping about for wood with 
 which to keep up the fire until morning. 
 
 In the mean time, Bim, left to his own devices, 
 had struck the trail leading from the hut to Winn s 
 camp, and started along it, probably thinking that 
 his master was following him as before. The dog 
 soon discovered Winn, and undertook to establish 
 friendly relations with him by rubbing his cold 
 nose against the boy s cheek. The suddenness 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 81 
 
 with which Winn started up caused the dog to 
 spring back into the darkness, from the shelter of 
 which he regarded his new acquaintance distrust 
 fully. Just then Billy Brackett, to cheer the 
 loneliness of his log-hut, began to chant the ballad 
 of " The Baldheaded Man," and Birn, hearing his 
 master s voice, darted off in that direction. 
 
 Now Billy Brackett, though very fond of music, 
 and possessed of an inextinguishable longing to 
 produce melodious sounds, could not sing any 
 more than Bim could. His efforts in this line had 
 so often been greeted with derisive shouts and 
 unkind remarks by his engineering comrades that 
 he no longer attempted to sing in public. When 
 alone, however, and out of hearing of his fellows, 
 he still sometimes broke forth into song. Bim 
 always howled in sympathy, but the effect of their 
 combined efforts had never been so surprising as 
 upon the present occasion, when they caused the 
 precipitate flight from the island of the very 
 nephew for whom the young engineer was 
 searching. 
 
 In blissful ignorance of this unfortunate result 
 of their performance, Billy Brackett and Bim sang 
 and howled in concert, until their repertory was 
 exhausted, when they lay down on the floor of the 
 hut, and with the facility of those to whom camp 
 life has become a second nature, were quickly asleep. 
 
88 Haftrnates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 From this slumber Billy Brackett was startlingly 
 awakened, some time later, by Bim s bark, and a 
 pistol shot that rang out from the profound still 
 ness of the forest like a thunder-clap. He grasped 
 the dog s collar and sat up. Before he could rise 
 any farther there came a roar of guns, a trampling 
 of feet, a confusion of voices, a rush, and a crashing 
 of wood. The next instant the door of his hut was 
 burst in, and the room was filled with armed men, 
 every one of whom seemed to be pointing a rifle 
 or a pistol straight at his devoted head. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 THE TRAPPERS TRAPPED. 
 
 WHEN the leader of the party by whom Winn 
 had been made prisoner (as related in the last chap 
 ter but one) peered cautiously in at the open win 
 dow of the log-hut to make certain that it was oc 
 cupied, he was disappointed to discover but one 
 man, where he had confidently expected to find 
 several. 
 
 This leader, who had told Winn that his name was 
 Riley, was a Sheriff, though such a new one that 
 this was his first important undertaking since as 
 suming office. Consequently he was most anxious 
 for its success, and also somewhat nervous from 
 anxiety. He had laid his plans well, the hut was 
 completely surrounded, and he was elated at the 
 thought of the prize so surely within his grasp, as 
 well as of the glory that would be his for effecting 
 this important capture. He expected to find sev 
 eral men in the hut, and counted upon their being 
 desperate characters who would make a stout re 
 sistance before yielding themselves prisoners. The 
 Sheriff had therefore prepared his followers for a 
 
90 Raftmates : 
 
 fight, and made all his arrangements with this in 
 prospect. Now, to discover but one man, and he 
 peacefully sleeping, caused these warlike prepara 
 tions to appear ridiculous, and called for a decided 
 modification of Mr. Riley s plans. 
 
 Having satisfied himself by a careful survey that 
 the man had no companions, and that the hut con 
 tained no rifles nor other fire-arms, the Sheriff re 
 tired noiselessly from the window and rejoined 
 his followers. He explained the situation in a 
 whisper, and then proposed that as they could not 
 fight a single unarmed man, they should paralyze 
 him with terror. As the Sheriff expressed it, they 
 would " scare him stiff " by a general discharge of 
 guns, a yell, and a rush for the door. These were 
 to follow a signal that he would give from his post 
 at the open window, through which he would 
 cover the sleeping man with his revolver. 
 
 The new programme being understood, the Sher 
 iff returned to his station, pointed his pistol at 
 Billy Brackett s head, and was about to order him 
 to throw np his hands and surrender, when he 
 made a slight movement that aroused Bim. This 
 faithful sentinel sprang up with a loud bark. In 
 the dim light Sheriff Riley had not noticed the 
 dog, and he was so much upset by this unexpected 
 challenge that his finger closed on the hair-trigger 
 of his revolver. Fortunately his aim was so wild 
 
A Story of the Great River. 91 
 
 that no harm was done by the shot that followed. 
 It was all the signal that the Sheriff s followers 
 needed, and they immediately carried out their 
 part of the programme to the letter. 
 
 When the tumult subsided, the situation was as 
 already described. Billy Brackett sat on the floor, 
 grasping Bim s collar, and awaiting further devel 
 opments as calmly as though he were merely a 
 disinterested spectator of this unique performance. 
 The dog, witli teeth displayed to an alarming ex 
 tent, stood ready to fly at the invaders whenever 
 he should be released. In front of this group, and 
 a few paces from it, stood half a dozen men, all of 
 whom held guns that were pointed at the young 
 engineer. The form of the Sheriff, with pistol still 
 levelled at his prisoner, appeared at the open 
 window. 
 
 " Do you surrender ?" he demanded. 
 
 " Certainly," replied Billy Brackett, cheerfully ; 
 " if you desire it. I m always ready to accommo 
 date, especially when it s no trouble to do so." 
 
 " Throw up your hands, then," commanded the 
 Sheriff. 
 
 " To do that," argued the prisoner, without mov 
 ing, " I shall be obliged to let go my hold of this 
 bull-dog. The moment I do so our friends with 
 the empty guns will be apt to fancy that about a 
 yard of particularly hot and well-greased lightning 
 
9S Raftmates : 
 
 has been forged for their especial benefit. Still, if 
 you insist " 
 
 "Oh, hang your dog!" exclaimed Mr. Riley. 
 "You must hold on to him, of course, until we 
 can find a rope to tie him with. Where are your 
 pals?" 
 
 "This is the only one I have at present," an 
 swered Billy Brackett, indicating Bim by a glance ; 
 " but I am in search of another, and have reason 
 to believe that he is on this island at this very 
 minute. Haven t seen anything of him, have 
 you ? He is a young fellow, about sixteen, named 
 Caspar, son of Major Caspar, of Caspar s Mill, up 
 the river a bit. He left home yesterday on a 
 raft, and I was to join him hereabouts." 
 
 " What sort of a raft ?" asked the Sheriff. 
 
 "Big timber raft. Two sweeps at each end, 
 and three shanties on it, two of them filled with 
 wheat." 
 
 " No," replied Mr. Kiley, in a relieved tone ; for 
 on hearing the well-known name of Caspar his men 
 had exchanged meaning looks and smiles, which 
 indicated their belief that the Sheriff might be 
 getting into hot-water. " I did arrest a young 
 rascal of about that age half an hour ago," he con 
 tinued, "just as he was leaving this island on a 
 raft ; but it was only a small affair, built of two 
 or three logs, and not at all such a raft as you 
 
A Story of the Great River. 9S 
 
 describe. I ve got the boy out here now, and I 
 believe him to be one of your pals, in spite of 
 your cheeky talk. You don t want to give me 
 any more of it, either," he concluded, in a fierce 
 tone, assumed to reassert the dignity of his office. 
 "So just cork up, and come along quietly, or you 
 may find yourself in trouble." 
 
 "All right," replied Billy Brackett, calmly; 
 "but first, perhaps you ll be kind enough to tell 
 me who you are, why you are taking such an in 
 terest in me, and where you want me to go." 
 
 " I am the Sheriff of Dubuque County, Iowa," 
 was the answer. " I have a warrant for your 
 arrest as a member of the most dangerous gang of 
 counterfeiters that has ever operated in this sec 
 tion of country, and I want you to go with me 
 to the county jail, which will be only a stopping- 
 place on your journey to State-prison." 
 
 " I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. 
 Sheriff, and obliged for your courtesy," said Billy 
 Brackett, politely. " Now if you will do me the 
 favor to read the names mentioned in your war 
 rant, I shall have nothing further to request." 
 
 "William Gresham, alias Gilder, et al." re 
 plied Mr. Riley. 
 
 " Good. But suppose I can prove to you that I 
 am not the person you take me to be, and that my 
 name is neither Gresham nor Gilder, et al., but 
 
94 Raftmates : 
 
 that I am a civil engineer, William Brackett by 
 name, brother-in-law of Major Caspar, whom I am 
 certain you must know, and that you are making 
 a rather sizable mistake in connection with this 
 business. Supposing, also, I state that I am just 
 now engaged on an important mission which will 
 not admit of delay, and that in case you insist on 
 taking me to jail, I can and will make you suffer, 
 even to the extent of losing your office. 
 
 By this time Billy Brackett was standing up, 
 while Bim, reluctantly obeying his stern com 
 mand, lay motionless at his feet. The men of the 
 Sheriff s posse had ceased to level their guns at 
 the young engineer, and even Mr. Riley was so 
 impressed with this bold attitude and declaration 
 of innocence that he consented to come inside the 
 hut and examine the papers offered for his inspec 
 tion. He was about to declare his satisfaction 
 with them, and admit that perhaps he had made 
 a mistake, when the man whom he had left to 
 guard Winn rushed up with the announcement 
 that his prisoner had escaped. 
 
 At this the Sheriff s face clouded angrily. " We ll 
 find him if he is still on the island !" he exclaimed. 
 "If he has left it we ll follow him; and, at any 
 rate, Mr. Brackett, I must now insist upon your 
 coming to Dubuque, where you will be granted 
 every opportunity for proving what you please. 
 
A Story of the Great Eiver. 96 
 
 In the mean time, you and I will await here the 
 result of the search for the escaped prisoner that 
 my men will at once proceed to make." 
 
 To this Billy Brackett returned no answer, but 
 stood silently considering how he should avoid 
 the vexatious delay that now appeared inevitable. 
 While he was thus cudgelling his brains, one of the 
 searching party returned to report that the skiff 
 in which they had come up the river was missing. 
 
 The Sheriff became furious. " I don t believe 
 it !" he cried. " Here, you ! Stop and guard this 
 prisoner, while I go and take charge of the search 
 myself." 
 
 As Mr. Biley departed, the new guard entered 
 the hut, leaned his rifle against the wall, and took 
 a seat near the door. 
 
 Then Billy Brackett stooped and whispered to his 
 ever-faithful comrade, "Watch him, Bim !" and the 
 dog answered with a low growl that spoke volumes. 
 Turning to the guard the young engineer said, 
 " My friend, if you make the slightest motion or 
 shout for help, that bull -dog will fly at your 
 throat. I am going to leave you alone with him 
 for a minute, and as you value your life, I beg of 
 you to keep perfectly quiet until you hear from 
 me." With this the prisoner leaped lightly from 
 the window and disappeared. 
 
 For two minutes the guard sat as motionless 
 
96 Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 as though carved from stone, his fascinated gaze 
 fixed on the gleaming teeth and bloodshot eyes 
 of the bull-dog that stood rigidly before him. 
 Then a shrill whistle rang out on the still air, 
 and at its sound the dog, dashing past him, dis 
 appeared like a flash. In another minute Billy 
 Brackett s lusty strokes were sending his own 
 skiff dancing out towards the middle of the main 
 channel, while Bim, thumping with his tail in 
 appreciation of his master s praises, occupied the 
 stern seat as calmly as though with him such 
 events as those just recorded were of e very-day 
 occurrence. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WINN S LONELY CRUISE. 
 
 DURING the half -hour that "Winn allowed to 
 elpse before he considered it safe to rise from his 
 recumbent position in the bottom of the skiff, he 
 had ample opportunity to recover his breath, and 
 reflect upon the new situation into which he had 
 been eo 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 
 
98 Raftmate* : 
 
 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 con 
 sidered 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 
 
A Story of the Great jRwer. 99 
 
 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 utmost 
 efforts. Finally, faint for want of food, exhausted, 
 and disheartened, the poor boy threw himself in 
 the bottom of the skiff and yielded to his despair. 
 At length he fell asleep. 
 
 So the dawn of Winn s second day on the river 
 caught him napping, as the first had done. In its 
 gray light the skiff drifted past the little city of 
 Dubuque, perched high on the bluffs of the western 
 bank, but no one saw it. There were several 
 steamboats and trading scows tied to the narrow 
 levee, but their crews were still buried in slumber. 
 Even had they been awake they would hardly 
 have noticed the little craft far out in the stream, 
 drifting with the hurrying waters. In a few min 
 utes it was gone, and the sleeping city was none 
 the wiser for its passing. So for hours it drifted, 
 now bow on, then broadside to, and as often stern 
 first ; here caught and spun round by an eddy, 
 then tossed aside and allowed to proceed on its un- 
 guided course. The cotton-woods on the tow- 
 heads beckoned to it with their trembling fingers ; 
 
100 Rafimates : 
 
 but it paid no heed. Grim snags lay in wait for 
 it, but it nimbly avoided them, and as the hours 
 passed each one of them saw the drifting skiff 
 some miles farther away from the island at which 
 this strange voyage was begun. 
 
 When Winn finally awoke, he was so bewildered, 
 and so much at a loss to account for his surround 
 ings, that for a minute he lay motionless, collecting 
 his scattered senses. It certainly was late in the 
 day, for the sun was shining full upon him from 
 high in the heavens. He had that comfort at 
 least ; but oh ! how he ached from lying on that 
 hard floor, and how faint he was from hunger. 
 
 The boy s head rested on a thwart, arid he faced 
 the after-end of the skiff. As he was about to 
 rise, his glance fell on something wrapped in news 
 paper and tucked under the stern seat. If it 
 should only prove to be food of any description, 
 " even burned mush," thought Winn, grimly, how 
 happy it would make him ! In another second he 
 was undoing, with eager fingers, the lunch of 
 crackers and cheese that Sheriff Riley s wife had 
 so thoughtfully thrust into her husband s hands as 
 he left the house the morning before, and which 
 he had as thoughtfully tucked under the stern 
 seat of his skiff. He was probably thinking of 
 it, and wishing he had it, at this very moment. 
 As for Winn, he was eating it as fast as possible. 
 
A Story of the Great Rimer. 101 
 
 and thinking that he had never tasted such good 
 crackers or such a fine piece of cheese in his life. 
 With each mouthful his spirits rose and his strength 
 returned, until, when the last crumb had disap 
 peared and been washed down with a double hand 
 ful of sweet river-water, the boy s pluck and cheer 
 fulness were fully restored. 
 
 Now what should he do ? He did not know 
 that he had passed Dubuque, though he feared 
 that such might be the case. Thinking of it 
 brought to mind the island with those upon whom 
 he had so recently turned the tables, and left as 
 prisoners within its limits. He even laughed 
 aloud as he pictured them toiling, as he had toiled 
 the evening before, to construct a raft on which to 
 escape. " I wonder if they found any one in that 
 log-hut," he thought, recalling its lighted window. 
 "And, oh ! if it should have been father ! It might 
 have been. He might have seen my signal-fire, 
 found my message, and got as far as the hut. Now 
 what will he do ? Oh, how I wish I could get 
 back ! Why didn t I think of all this before 
 leaving the island? That was a horrid sound in 
 the woods, though. And that animal ! I wonder 
 what it could have been ?" 
 
 By this time the current had carried the skiff 
 close in to the drowned bottom-lands of the Illinois 
 shore. They were covered with a heavy growth 
 
102 Raftmates : 
 
 of timber, and Winn knew that in many places the 
 wellnigh impassable swamps which this concealed 
 extended back a mile or more from the channel. 
 Otherwise he would have abandoned the skiff and 
 made the attempt to swim ashore. 
 
 The Iowa bluffs rose invitingly on the opposite 
 side of the river. On them he saw a few scattered 
 settlements, but they were too far away, and he 
 must wait until the current set him in that direc 
 tion before thinking of making a landing. He saw 
 an occasional ferry-boat making its slow way across 
 the river, but it was always either too far above him 
 or too far below him for his signals to be noticed, 
 and so the hours dragged on until it was late after 
 noon, and Winn was again beginning to feel the 
 pangs of hunger. 
 
 " I can t spend another night in this wretched 
 boat !" he exclaimed aloud, when he saw that the 
 Bun was within an hour of its setting. "I ll swim 
 the whole width of the river first !" 
 
 During the day he had passed a number of small 
 islands, but had not cared to attempt a landing on 
 them. He knew that he would be even worse off 
 on an island than in the skiff, and so he had 
 watched them glide by without giving them any 
 particular thought. Suddenly it occurred to him 
 that on any one of these islands he might pick up 
 an oar, a paddle, or at least something that would 
 
A Story of the Great River. 103 
 
 answer in place of these, and from that instant 
 they acquired a new interest. 
 
 The next one that he approached was only a 
 tow-head, which is a sand-bar on which has sprung 
 up a thick growth of slender cotton - woods, or 
 other quick-shooting, water-loving trees. 
 
 " I might find what I want there as well as on 
 a larger island," thought Winn, " and, at any rate, 
 I ll make a try for it." So when the skiff had 
 drifted as near the tow-head as it seemed likely to, 
 and was rapidly sliding past it, the boy threw off 
 his coat, kicked off his shoes, and, taking one end 
 of the skiff s painter with him, plunged overboard 
 and began to swim towards the desired point. 
 
 The distance was not more than a hundred feet, 
 but the current swept him down so much more 
 rapidly than he expected that he was barely able 
 to catch one of the very last of the tow-head sap 
 lings and cling to it. While his own progress was 
 thus checked, that of the skiff was not, and in a 
 second the painter was jerked from his hand. 
 
 Exhausted as he was, Winn was on the point of 
 letting go his hold on the sapling and making a 
 desperate effort to overtake the rapidly receding 
 skiff. Fortunately he had enough practical sense, 
 though this is not generally credited to sixteen- 
 year-old boys, to restrain him from such a rash act. 
 So he crawled out on the sand beach, and sat there 
 
104 jRaftmates : A Story of the Great JKiver. 
 
 watching what he considered to be his only hope 
 grow smaller and smaller until it finally disap 
 peared. As it did so, the sun slowly sank behind 
 the western bluffs; and though the boy did not 
 look up from the wet sand on which he had flung 
 himself, he knew instinctively that another night, 
 with its darkness, its chill, and its nameless terrors, 
 was upon him. 
 
 He was so numbed by this latest disaster that 
 he had not the heart even to seek a place of 
 shelter for the night. What good would anything 
 that he could find or construct do him? He had 
 neither matches nor food, dry clothing nor bedding. 
 What did it matter, though ? He would probably 
 be dead before the sun rose again, anyway. So the 
 poor lad nursed his misery, and might, in truth, 
 have lain on those wet sands until he perished, so 
 despairing was he, when all at once he was aroused 
 by a sound so strange to hear in that place that, 
 though he raised his head to listen, he thought he 
 must be dreaming. He wasn t, though, for there 
 came again to his ears, as distinct as anything ever 
 heard in his life, a merry peal of clear girlish 
 laughter. Not only that, but it sounded so close 
 at hand that the boy sprang to his feet and gazed 
 eagerly in the direction from which it came, fully 
 expecting to see its author standing near him. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A PEAL OP GIRLISH LAUGHTER. 
 
 IN vain did Winn gaze in every direction, up 
 and down the river, across its darkening waters, 
 and into the shadowy thicket behind him. There 
 were no objects in sight, save those with which he 
 was already only too familiar. Again he began to 
 doubt the evidence of his senses, and wonder if his 
 mind had not become somewhat unsettled by his 
 misfortunes. But no, there was the ringing peal 
 of laughter again. This time it was accompanied 
 by a strange chattering sound such as he had never 
 heard before. At the same moment a most de 
 licious whiff of frying bacon reached the hungry 
 boy, mingled with the unmistakable and equally 
 enticing odor of coffee. There was no doubt as to 
 the direction from which these came, and plunging 
 into the cotton-wood thicket, Winn made his way 
 diagonally up and across the tow-head. 
 
 In less than a minute he reached its opposite 
 side, where he halted to gaze with amazement at the 
 very strangest-looking craft he had ever seen. At 
 first he thought it a small stern- wheeled steamboat. 
 
106 Raftmates : 
 
 She certainly had such a wheel, but then there 
 was no chimney. Perhaps she was a trading- 
 scow. "Who ever heard, though, of a trading- 
 scow with a pilot-house such as this nondescript 
 craft had on the forward end of its upper deck? 
 Besides, there were no sweeps, nor was she in the 
 least like any trading-scow Winn had ever seen. 
 A low house occupied her entire width, and ex 
 tended along her whole length except at the curve 
 of her bows, where there was room left for a small 
 deck. A structure with a door and windows, that 
 was somewhat larger than the pilot-house, rose 
 from the upper deck near its after-end. There 
 were three doors on each side of the main house, 
 a large one well forward, a small one nearly amid- 
 ship, and another large one well aft. There were 
 also six small windows on each side, and from 
 three of those nearest "Winn a cheerful light was 
 streaming, while the other three were dark. 
 There was a name painted on the boat s side in 
 such large black letters that even in the fading 
 twilight Winn managed to read it " W-H-A-T- 
 X-O-T? he spelled slowly " Whatnot ! Well, 
 if that isn t the queerest name for a boat I ever 
 heard of I" 
 
 Just then, however, there were things of far 
 greater importance to a boy in his situation than 
 queer names. The tantalizing odors that were 
 
A Story of tlie Great River. 107 
 
 pouring from that after-window, for instance, and 
 the sound of voices that rang out merrily from 
 the two just beyond it. The boat was moored to 
 a tree, with her bows pointed up-stream, and had 
 swung in so close to shore that by standing on a 
 half-submerged log, which served as a fender to 
 keep her off a few feet from the bank, Winn 
 could look into one of the open windows. It was 
 evidently that of the galley, for the odor of frying 
 came from it, and half hidden in a cloud of fra 
 grant steam was the form of a negro bending over 
 a small stove. 
 
 This was a welcome and comforting sight ; but 
 hungry as he was, W inn s curiosity was stronger 
 than his appetite. He must see into those other 
 windows, and discover the source of the merry 
 laughter that had so suddenly banished his loneli 
 ness and despair of a few minutes before. Cau 
 tiously advancing a few steps along the slippery 
 log, he reached a point that commanded a view of 
 the room or compartment next forward of the 
 galley. It was of good size, and occupied the en 
 tire width of the boat. 
 
 In the centre of this room was a table spread 
 for supper, and beside it, so as to take advantage 
 of its bright lamp, was a group that to Winn ap 
 peared both extraordinary and fascinating. A 
 white-haired old man was seated before an easel. 
 
108 Raftmates : 
 
 on which was stretched a large canvas. A young 
 girl stood near him watching the movements of 
 his brush with deep interest, and at the same time 
 evidently restraining, with gentle but firm hands, 
 the impatient struggles of something which she 
 addressed as "Don Blossom," but whether it was 
 a child or an animal Winn could not see. In his 
 effort to do so he stood on tiptoe, and just as 
 the old man began to say, " There, Sabella, that 
 will do for this sitting," the boy s treacherous 
 footing slipped from under him. 
 
 With a half-suppressed cry and a loud splash 
 he was plunged headlong into the narrow space 
 of water between the boat and the shore. 
 
 A frightened exclamation came from the in 
 terior of the boat, and then the small door on that 
 side was flung open. At the same instant a woolly 
 head was thrust out of the galley window, and a 
 trembling voice cried, " Golly, Marse Cap n ! 
 Wha dat ar? Yo heah urn ?" 
 
 " Yes, Solon, I heard it, and you want to come 
 here as quick as you can. Some one is in trou 
 ble," answered the old man, who was standing 
 with the girl in the open doorway. He held a 
 lamp above his head, and was peering anxiously 
 in the direction of the splashings and floun- 
 derings that Winn, sitting in the shallow water, 
 but tightly wedged between the log and the 
 
" WHO S THERE? CUIKD THE OLD MAN." 
 
A 8tory of the Great River. 109 
 
 boat, was making in hie efforts to extricate him 
 self. 
 
 " Who s there ?" cried the old man, who could 
 not yet make out what was taking place; "and 
 what are you doing ?" 
 
 " It s me !" returned Winn, regardless of hie 
 grammar ; " and I am sinking in this awful mud. 
 Hurry up and push your boat away from the log, 
 or I shall be drowned !" 
 
 While the old man and the negro exerted all 
 their strength at the pole, with which they finally 
 succeeded in pushing the boat a foot or so out 
 into the stream, Sabella was also busy. Though 
 greatly excited, and somewhat alarmed by the 
 unexpected appearance of a human being in that 
 place, and his perilous situation, she still had pres 
 ence of mind enough to run for a rope, one end 
 of which she fastened to the table. She carried 
 the other end out through the door, and tossed it 
 over the side just in time for Winn to catch it, as 
 the moving of the boat once more gave him free 
 dom of action. 
 
 Hauling himself up by this welcome rope, and 
 at the same time being assisted by the two men, 
 the boy quickly gained the open doorway, where 
 he stood blinking in the bright lamplight, while 
 mud and water ran from him in streams. He 
 faced the occupants of the boat, who, standing a 
 
110 Eaftmates : 
 
 few steps back in the room, regarded him with 
 undisguised wonder, not unmixed with suspicion. 
 On the table behind them stood a small, gaudily- 
 dressed object, that Winn at first took to be a 
 child. Upon his appearance it remained motion 
 less for a few seconds, and then, with a frightened 
 cry, it sprang to the little girl s shoulder, from 
 which it peered at the stranger, chattering angrily 
 all the while. 
 
 " Well, I am blest if this isn t a most extraordi 
 nary situation !" exclaimed the old man. " It sug 
 gests a tableau of Yenus rising from the sea." 
 
 " Or a alligator," said the negro. 
 
 Sabella wanted to laugh at the comical spectacle 
 presented by the dripping, coatless, hatless, bare 
 footed, and generally woe-begone boy ; but pity 
 ing his evident embarrassment, she exclaimed : 
 
 " Uncle, how can you ! Don t you see that he 
 is shivering ? You must go at once and find him 
 some dry clothes. Solon, show this boy to the 
 engine-room, where he can change his wet things. 
 Don Blossom, be quiet, sir ! Aren t you ashamed 
 of yourself!" Then, turning to Winn with a 
 cheery smile, she said, " We are very sorry for 
 your accident, and should like to know all about 
 it after you are dry again. If you will go with 
 Solon to the engine-room, he will do everything 
 he can for you." 
 
A Story of the Great River. Ill 
 
 The Captain had already hastened away on his 
 quest for dry clothing. As he left the room, Winn 
 noticed that he had a wooden leg. It was not one 
 of the modern kind, so carefully constructed as 
 to closely resemble the real article, but an old- 
 fashioned, iron - shod stick of timber strapped to 
 his right knee. 
 
 As Sabella finished speaking, she too left the 
 room, running after the Captain, and smiling cheer 
 fully as she went at the mud-streaked boy, who 
 still stood speechless and motionless in the door 
 way. 
 
 Now, at Solon s invitation he followed the 
 negro into what had been called the engine-room, 
 though to Winn s eye it looked as little like an 
 engine-room as any place he had ever known. 
 At one side was a horse -power treadmill, such 
 as he had often seen used for the sawing of wood. 
 Half of it was sunk below the level of the deck, 
 and covered with a removable floor. It was gear 
 ed in the most direct and simple manner to a 
 shaft that disappeared through the rear wall of 
 the room, and presumably connected with the 
 stern wheel he had previously noticed. There 
 was also a belt extending to a shaft pulley over 
 head, but beyond this there was no trace of ma 
 chinery, nor was there either boiler or furnace. 
 There was what looked like a stall at one end of 
 
Raftmates : A Story of ike Great River. 
 
 the room, but it contained only bales of hay and 
 sacks of oats. 
 
 " Yes, sah, we uses a inewel-ingine when we hab 
 urn. We hain t got no inewel at de present time, 
 but we specs ter contrac fer one shortly," ex 
 plained the negro, noting Winn s inquiring glances, 
 as he assisted him to remove his wet garments. 
 
 Before the boy had a chance to ask the ques 
 tions that were at his tongue s end, he, as well as 
 the other occupants of the boat, was startled by a 
 loud hail from the river. 
 
 " Hello ! What steamer is that ?" 
 
 " The Whatnot, of Dubuque," was the answer. 
 
 "Do you know the Sheriff of Dubuque 
 County ?" 
 
 Who Kiley ? Yes, I know him." 
 
 " Do you know his skiff ?" 
 
 " As well as I know my own boat, for I built 
 it." 
 
 " Have you seen it pass down the river to-day, 
 containing only a boy between sixteen and seven 
 teen years old?" 
 
 "No. Haven t seen it or any other skiff. 
 What s the matter? Has it been stolen ?" 
 
 "That 11 do, thank you. Good -night," came 
 the reply, without an answer to this last question, 
 and then the stranger passed out of hearing down 
 the river. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "CAP N COD," SABELLA, AND THE WHATNOT. 
 
 IN order to explain the presence beside that 
 tow-head of the queer craft on board which Winn 
 had found shelter, and of its several occupants, who 
 were making such kindly efforts to relieve his dis 
 tress, it is necessary to take a twenty-year glance 
 backward. At that time Aleck Fifield, a Yankee 
 jack-of-all-trades, who had been by turns a school 
 teacher, sailor, mechanic, boat-builder, and several 
 other things as well, found himself employed as 
 stage - carpenter in a Boston theatre. He had 
 always been possessed of artistic tastes, though 
 they had never carried him beyond sign-painting, 
 and of dramatic longings, which had thus far been 
 satisfied with a diligent reading of Shakespeare 
 and attending the theatre at every opportunity. 
 Now, being regularly connected with the stage, 
 both these tastes expanded, until through one of 
 them he blossomed into a very passable scene- 
 painter. Through the other he overwhelmed 
 himself with despair, and convulsed an audience 
 with laughter, by appearing once, and once only, 
 
114 Rqftmates : 
 
 as Captain Thomas Codringhampton in the pop 
 ular sea drama of "Blue Billows." His failure 
 as an actor was so dismal and complete as to be 
 notorious. Unkind comparisons of other bad act 
 ing with that of Cap n Cod became stock jokes 
 in every theatre of the country. From that day 
 the stage name clung to him ; and though it galled 
 at first, the passage of time soothed the wound, 
 until finally Aleck Fifield became proud of the 
 name. As he grew older, it represented to him 
 the fame for which he had longed when young. 
 When the war broke out and he became one of 
 the bravest defenders of the Union, he was every 
 where known as " Cap n Cod." After the war, in 
 which he managed to lose a leg, he went to Iowa 
 to live with his only relative, a widowed niece, 
 who had but one child, a little girl. 
 
 Between this child, Sabella, and the white-haired 
 veteran, who could tell more tales than a fairy- 
 book, and construct more toys than Santa Claus 
 ever dreamed of, there sprang up an affection that 
 could not have been stronger had they been father 
 and daughter. On one side it was based upon 
 boundless love and admiration, and on the other 
 upon admiration and boundless love. When Sa 
 bella went to school, the Captain s business kept 
 him within sight of the school-house; and when 
 school was out, the little girl was nowhere happier 
 
A Story of the Great River. 115 
 
 than in his company. For her sake he was the 
 friend of her friends, and among the children of 
 Dubuque no one was so popular as Cap n Cod. 
 They did not live in the city, but on a small farm 
 a few miles from it, and this Cap n Cod was sup 
 posed to manage. Farming was, however, the 
 one occupation for which he had no taste, and 
 but for his capable niece the annual crops would 
 not have paid the expense of raising them. 
 
 When Sabella was twelve years old and rapidly 
 developing into beautiful girlhood, her mother 
 died, leaving her and her little property to the 
 unrestricted guardianship of Cap n Cod. Now 
 matters went from bad to worse so far as the farm 
 was concerned, until, to save it from the hammer, 
 it was deemed best to rent it to a more practical 
 farmer than the child s devoted guardian. 
 
 This gave Cap n Cod the opportunity and an 
 excuse for carrying out a cherished scheme that, 
 but for the opposition of his niece, he would 
 have put into operation long before. It was the 
 painting of a panorama, the building of a boat to 
 hold it, and thus equipped, to float away down the 
 great river in search of fame and fortune. Now Sa 
 bella must of course be included in the plan ; for 
 not only did she and Cap n Cod consider it impos 
 sible to get along without each other, but the 
 latter declared that such a bit of travel would be 
 
116 Ra/tmates : 
 
 the very best kind of an education for his grand- 
 niece. 
 
 This scheme had been in the old man s mind for 
 so long that the panorama, worked on at odd 
 moments for more than two years, was nearly 
 finished at the time of his niece s death. With his 
 own savings, and largely by his own labor, he now 
 built his boat, the Whatnot. When she was com 
 pleted, his money was gone. But what of that? 
 Was he not prepared to realize a fortune? He 
 knew that it would shortly be theirs, and Sabella s 
 faith was strong as his. She never for a moment 
 doubted that her dear guardian was the artist he 
 claimed to be, or that the panorama he had painted 
 was the most perfect thing of its kind ever seen. 
 So she was as enthusiastic concerning the project 
 as the old man himself, and eagerly aided in his 
 preparations to the full extent of her ability. 
 There was but one point on which they disagreed. 
 When Cap n Cod had exhausted his own re 
 sources, and the motive power of the Whatnot 
 still remained unprovided, Sabella begged that he 
 would draw some of her money from the bank 
 and use it, but this the old man firmly declined 
 to do. 
 
 "No, Sabella," he would say; "what is mine 
 is yours ; but what is yours is your own, and it 
 would be as bad as stealing for me to touch it." 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 117 
 
 " But it is mine," the girl would argue ; " and 
 if I want to give it to you, more than I want to 
 do anything else with it, I don t see why you 
 shouldn t let me." 
 
 " No, dear," her guardian would reply. " It is 
 not yours. It is only held in trust for you until 
 you become of age, by which time you will have 
 many other uses for money besides gratifying an 
 old man s whim." 
 
 " But you will pay it back long before then." 
 
 " I might, and then again I might not. There 
 is nothing more uncertain than the things we think 
 we are sure of." 
 
 Then the girl would throw her arms about his 
 neck and exclaim, " Oh, you dear old stupid ! 
 How horridly honest you are ! and what a beau 
 tiful world this would be if everybody in it was 
 just like you." 
 
 " Yes, my dear ; Stupidity and Honesty are apt 
 to be comrades, and undoubtedly they would 
 make a beautiful world if left to themselves ; but 
 it would be frightfully dull. Now don t you 
 worry your pretty head about the mule, for we 
 can drift with the current until we have given 
 two or three exhibitions, and so made money 
 enough to buy one. Then, having earned him, 
 how much more shall we enjoy him than if he 
 were only a borrowed mule ?" 
 
118 Rafimates : 
 
 Cap n Cod would have preferred a steamboat 
 to one propelled by mule-power, but the expenses 
 of machinery and an engineer were too great to be 
 considered. He made the Whatnot look as much 
 like a steamboat as he could, and even proposed 
 ornamenting her with an imitation chimney as 
 soon as he could afford such a luxury. He also 
 hoped soon to be able to engage some active young 
 fellow as deck hand and general assistant. In the 
 mean time the Whatnofs crew consisted of himself, 
 Sabella, and Solon, an old negro who had been cook 
 of the mess to which Cap n Cod had belonged 
 in the army, and who had followed his fortunes 
 ever since. 
 
 As nearly every one in Dubuque who was at all 
 interested in such things had seen the panorama 
 during its painting and construction, and as Cap n 
 Cod s dramatic reputation was well known there, 
 he deemed it advisable to give the first exhibitions 
 of his show in some smaller and less critical places. 
 He called it a " show," because, even at the outset, 
 it contained two attractions besides the panorama, 
 and he hoped in the course of time to add still 
 others. 
 
 Those already on hand were a monkey and a 
 hand-organ, both of which were much greater rar 
 ities in the Mississippi Valley at that time than 
 they are now. They formerly belonged to an Ital- 
 
A Story of the Great River. 119 
 
 ian, who, sick, penniless, and friendless, had sunk 
 exhausted by the road-side a few miles from Du- 
 buque. Several persons passed him without heed 
 ing his feeble appeals for aid before Cap n Cod 
 happened along and discovered him. The old sol 
 dier at once engaged a team, carried the dying 
 stranger home, and there, with Sabella s pitying 
 aid, cared for him until the end, which came a few 
 days later. During these last days his monkey was 
 the man s inseparable companion. It cuddled be 
 side him in bed, and answered his feeble terms of 
 endearment with voluble chatterings. With his 
 latest breath the dying stranger consigned his help 
 less pet to the same pitying care that had helped 
 him over the bitterest of all human journeys. He 
 said, u Monka, Don Bolossi, you keep-a him alway." 
 
 So Don Bolossi, Americanized to "Don Blos 
 som," transferred all his affections to Sabella, and 
 with the hand-organ, for which no claimant could 
 be found, was added to the attractions of " Cap n 
 Cod s Great Panoramic Show." 
 
 One of the Captain s last bits of work in Du- 
 buque was to build a skiff for Sheriff Biley, and 
 with the money thus earned to defray immediate 
 expenses, the Whatnot started on her voyage down 
 the river at sunrise of the very morning on which 
 Winn Caspar unconsciously drifted past Dubuque 
 in that very skiff. Being deeper in the water, the 
 
120 Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 show-boat drifted somewhat faster than the skifi, 
 and so had nearly caught up with it by the time the 
 tow-head was reached. Here Cap n Cod deter 
 mined to tie up for the night, as he did not wish 
 to stop at a town until his final preparations for an 
 exhibition were made. 
 
 Among these was the painting of a life-sized 
 representation of Don Blossom hanging by his tail 
 from the limb of a tree, which was to be displayed on 
 the outside of the boat as an advertisement. This 
 was the labor upon which the Captain was engaged 
 when Winn Caspar discovered the Whatnot. Sa- 
 bella had undertaken to hold the restless little 
 model from which the white-headed artist was 
 painting, and the peals of laughter that attracted 
 W inn s attention were called forth by the absurd 
 ities of this situation. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BIM MAKES AN ENEMY. 
 
 BILLY BKACKETT S satisfaction at his escape from 
 a situation that promised to cause him a vexatious 
 delay was tinged with a new anxiety concerning 
 Winn. As he pulled swiftly across the river, so 
 as to be lost to view from the island as quick 
 ly as possible, he expressed his feelings aloud 
 to Bim : 
 
 u What new scrape can that young rascal have 
 got into now eh, old dog ? It was bad enough to 
 start down the river alone on a big raft without 
 even bidding his folks good-bye ; but now he seems 
 to have lost the raft somewhere, to have landed on 
 that island, to have been arrested for something, to 
 have escaped, and to have run off with the Sheriff s 
 boat. It looks as though he had the same happy 
 faculty for getting into scrapes that distinguished 
 my young friend Glen Eddy. Somehow I have a 
 fellow-feeling for such boys. It is strange, too, for 
 I can t remember ever getting into any scrapes 
 myself. We must put a stop to it, though, in 
 Winn s case. It will never do for him to be cavort- 
 
128 Bqftmate* : 
 
 ing about in this scandalous manner, so long as we 
 are responsible for his decent behavior and safe 
 return. We shall surely find him, and probably 
 the raft also, at Dubuque. Then we will take our 
 nephew in hand, and by simple force of example 
 instruct him in that dignity of deportment that 
 steers clear of scrapes. Eh, Biinsey ?" 
 
 At this Bim sprang from his seat, and made 
 such a violent effort to lick his master s face that 
 the latter was very nearly tumbled over backward. 
 By the time order was restored, daylight was be 
 ginning to appear, and the young man saw that he 
 was far enough below the island for it to be safe 
 to again cross the river and head for Dubuque. 
 He reached this place soon after sunrise, or about 
 an hour after Winn passed it, and a few minutes 
 after the departure of the Whatnot. 
 
 A hasty inspection of the various craft lining 
 the water-front of the city convinced him that 
 the raft was not among them. He found several 
 persons who knew Sheriff Eiley s skiff, but none 
 of them had seen it that morning. This, however, 
 did not discourage the young engineer, for a skiff 
 is so much smaller than a raft as to be easily over 
 looked. He would make a more thorough search 
 after visiting the hotel, where he hoped Winn 
 might also have gone for breakfast. 
 
 On his way he stopped at the telegraph office, 
 
A Story of the Great River. 123 
 
 and sent the following despatch to both Mrs. Cas 
 par and to the Major at Madison : 
 
 " Have heard of Winn, and am on his track. 
 The boy is all right. W. B." 
 
 "That is true so far as it goes," soliloquized 
 Billy Brackett, " and will relieve their present 
 anxiety. By to-morrow, or perhaps within a few 
 minutes, I shall certainly have something more 
 definite to wire." 
 
 At the hotel he was greatly disappointed to find 
 no trace of the missing lad, and after eating a 
 hearty breakfast he made a thorough search of 
 the water-front, though of course without avail. 
 He had intended dropping a hint here and there 
 of the predicament in which he had left Sheriff 
 Riley and his followers, but on second thoughts 
 concluded to let them work out their own plan of 
 escape from the island, rather than run the risk of 
 further delay. 
 
 By noon he was ready to depart from Dubuque, 
 satisfied that there was no information to be gained 
 in that place concerning either Winn or the raft. 
 Although he was not discouraged, he was puzzled, 
 and was even beginning to feel anxious at the 
 strange aspect this affair of the lost Venture was 
 assuming. 
 
 Until sunset he rowed steadily and swiftly down- 
 
124 Raftmates : 
 
 stream, hailing the ferrymen as he passed, and 
 stopping at the settlements on both sides of the 
 river to make inquiries. He also hailed passing 
 boats, and boarded several rafts that he discovered 
 tied to the western bank, but all in vain. He 
 failed to learn anything about Winn, and heard 
 that but one raft had passed down the river the 
 day before. It was described as having a single 
 " shanty," a tent, and a crew of three men. As that 
 was not the kind of a raft he was looking for, this 
 information only added to the young man s per 
 plexity. It never occurred to him that the raft 
 might have been stolen and disguised. So, as he 
 was certain he haf 3 not passed it, there was but one 
 solution to the problem. The Venture must have 
 been wrecked and gone to pieces during the 
 storm of that first night, and Winn must have 
 escaped to the island. 
 
 Even with this explanation the mystery of 
 Winn s second disappearance remained as great as 
 ever, and by the time Billy Brackett hailed the 
 What r iwt, as has already been noted, he was as 
 thoroughly bewildered as ever in his life. Nor 
 could he decide on any plan of action that seemed 
 in the least satisfactory. He knew there was 
 a town a mile or so below where the Whatnot 
 lay, and there he had determined to spend the 
 night. But for his desire to reach this place be- 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 126 
 
 fore darkness should wholly shut in, he would 
 have boarded the Whatnot merely to gratify the 
 curiosity excited by her strange appearance. As 
 it was, he felt that he had no time to spare, and so 
 hastened on. 
 
 It was quite dark as he approached the lights 
 marking the town he was seeking; but as he drew 
 near he discovered what appeared like a part of 
 the levee slowly moving out from shore. Above 
 it rose dimly a white object that he had taken 
 for a house, and still above this shown a lantern. 
 In a moment he saw that it was a raft resuming its 
 voyage down the river, and he determined to make 
 an inquiry from its crew before landing. 
 
 Pulling his skiff alongside, the young man 
 sprang aboard. As he did so he noticed that the 
 white object was a tent, and that there was a single 
 "shanty" amidship. It was the very raft that had 
 been described to him as being the only one to 
 pass down the river the day before. These details 
 so occupied his attention that he did not notice a 
 skiff made fast to the side of the raft just forward 
 of where he tied his own. Not seeing it, he did 
 not, of course, ask any questions concerning it. 
 If he had, he might have learned that the raftsmen 
 had just picked it up, floating, empty and owner 
 less, down the river. There had been no oars in 
 it, but they had rowed it to the raft with an extra 
 
126 Raftmates: 
 
 pair from their own skiff. In their preparations 
 for departure they had not yet found time to ex 
 amine it, and knew nothing of its contents. 
 
 As Billy Brackett walked towards the " shanty," 
 there was a sudden commotion at its entrance. A 
 gruff voice exclaimed, 
 
 "Get out of here, you cur!" 
 
 This command was evidently accompanied by a 
 savage kick, which was immediately followed by 
 a yell and a heavy fall as Bim s white teeth sank 
 deep in the calf of one of Mr. Plater s legs. 
 
 The dog, tired of his long confinement in the 
 skiff, had eagerly leaped aboard the raft, and with 
 friendly inquisitiveness had poked his nose into 
 the open doorway of the " shanty " just as Plater 
 was emerging from it. 
 
 Bim s master realized in a moment what had 
 happened, and sprang to the scene just as two 
 other figures came running in the same direction 
 from the forward end of the raft. 
 
 Mr. Plater, though on his back, had nearly suc 
 ceeded in drawing a pistol from his hip pocket. 
 In a few seconds more poor Bim s earthly career 
 would have been ended, but his owner s move 
 ments were quick enough to save him, and before 
 the pistol could be drawn, Billy Brackett had seized 
 the dog s collar. 
 
 " Let go, sir !" he ordered, sternly, and Bim in- 
 
A Story of the Great JRwer. 
 
 stantly obeyed the command. Then realizing that 
 discretion is the better part of valor when the odds 
 are three to one, the young engineer, with the dog 
 in his arms, ran to the side of the raft, sprang into 
 the skiff, and shoved off. He was followed by a 
 storm of threats and angry imprecations, at which 
 he only smiled, as he took to his oars and pulled 
 through the friendly darkness towards the landing 
 from which the raft had already drifted quite a 
 distance. 
 
 Making his way to the wharf-boat, and giving 
 the watchman a quarter to look out for his skiff 
 until morning, Billy Brackett, weary and disheart 
 ened, sought such accommodation as the only hotel 
 of the little town afforded. All night he tossed 
 sleeplessly on his uncomfortable bed, striving in 
 vain to unravel the mystery in which the fate of 
 his nephew and of Major Caspar s raft had be 
 come enshrouded. 
 
 In the morning he strolled undecidedly down to 
 the wharf -boat, and, missing his skiff, asked the 
 watchman, who was just going off duty, what he 
 had done with it. 
 
 "Why, there it is, sir, just where you left it," 
 answered the man, in a surprised tone, pointing to 
 a skiff that Billy Brackett was certain he had never 
 seen before. 
 
 " That is not my boat," he said. 
 
128 Raftmates : A Story of tfie Great River. 
 
 " It is the one you came in last night," answered 
 the watchman. " And here is the coat you left in 
 it. I took the liberty of bringing it in oat of the 
 dew." 
 
 The young engineer looked at the coat the man 
 was holding towards him, and shook his head. 
 
 " That is not mine, either," he said. 
 
 " Whose is it, then ?" 
 
 " I m sure I don t know. You d better look in 
 the pockets. They may contain some clew." 
 
 Acting upon this suggestion the watchman 
 thrust his hand into a breast-pocket of the coat 
 and drew forth a note-book. He opened it. 
 
 "Here s something writ in it," he said; "but 
 as I m not quick at making out strange writing, 
 maybe you ll read it, sir." 
 
 Taking the book from the man s hand, and glan 
 cing carelessly at its title-page, Billy Brackett ut 
 tered a cry of amazement. There, written in a 
 clear boyish hand, was the inscription : 
 
 " Whin Caspar. His Book." 
 
 
CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 THE TRUTH, BUT NOT THE WHOLE TRUTH. 
 
 WINN was greatly perturbed by hearing from 
 the Whatnots engine-room the inquiries concern 
 ing Sheriff Riley s skiff, and Cap n Cod s replies. 
 He had not meant to steal the boat, of course, but 
 it now seemed that he was regarded as having done 
 so, and was being hotly pursued by some one in 
 terested in its recovery. It was not the Sheriff 
 himself, for the voice was a strange one ; so it was 
 probably one of his men, who undoubtedly had one 
 or more companions. Winn was too ignorant of 
 the world to know whether escaping from a sheriff 
 who had unjustly arrested him, and running off 
 with his boat, would be considered a serious of 
 fence or not. He only knew that while perfectly 
 conscious of his own innocence, he yet felt very 
 much as though he were fleeing from justice. He 
 had not even known until that minute that his late 
 captor was a sheriff, nor could he imagine why he 
 had been arrested. What he did know was that 
 some one well acquainted with the fact that he had 
 taken a skiff not his own was now searching for it 
 
ISO Raftmates : 
 
 and for him. This was sufficient to alarm him 
 and fill his mind with visions of arrest, imprison 
 ment, and fines which his father would be com 
 pelled to pay. 
 
 Then, too, the Captain of this strange craft on 
 which he had just found an asylum, but from 
 which he would already be glad to escape, had de 
 clared himself to be a friend of Sheriff Riley, and 
 well acquainted with his boat. Of course, then, he 
 would gladly aid his friend in recovering his prop 
 erty, and would not hestitate to make a prisoner of 
 the person who had run off with it. In that case 
 he would be taken back to Dubuque in disgrace, 
 his father would have to be sent for and who 
 knew where he might be by this time? and there 
 would be a long delay that he would probably 
 have to endure in prison. In the mean time what 
 would become of the raft lost through his careless 
 ness and self-conceit ? 
 
 Decidedly all this must be prevented if possible ; 
 and though the boy would have scorned to tell a 
 lie even to save his life, he determined to tell as 
 little of the truth as would be necessary to answer 
 the questions that he knew would shortly be put to 
 him. 
 
 While Winn was puzzling over this situation, 
 and trying to frame a plausible story that would 
 account for his presence on the tow-head without 
 
A /Story of the Great Ewer. 131 
 
 overstepping the bounds of truth, the door of the 
 engine-room opened, and Cap n Cod stumped in. 
 He brought an armful of dry clothing, and was 
 beaming with the satisfaction that he always felt 
 when engaged in helping any one out of trouble. 
 
 " Well, my muddy young friend," he exclaimed, 
 good-naturedly, " how are you getting on ? Has 
 Solon taken good care of you ? Here are some 
 clothes that, I guess, you will have to make the 
 best of until your own can be dried. They prob 
 ably won t come within a mile of fitting, but 
 clothing does not make the man, you know, and we 
 are not very critical as to appearances aboard the 
 Whatnot. By-the-way, my name is Fifield Aleck 
 Fifield. What did you say yours was?" 
 
 " I don t think I said," answered the boy, slip 
 ping into a woollen shirt many sizes too large for 
 him ; " but it is Winn." 
 
 " Winn, eh ? Good name. Belong to the 
 Massachusetts Winns ?" 
 
 " My parents came from there, but I was born 
 in Wisconsin." 
 
 " Yes, yes. Just so. But, there ! I musn t 
 hinder you. Supper is ready, and if you haven t 
 any better place to go to, we should be most happy 
 to have you join us." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," replied Winn. " I shall be 
 only too glad to do so, for I haven t had any 
 
1S2 Raft/mates : 
 
 supper, and the raft to which I belong has prob 
 ably gone off down the river without me." 
 
 " So you belong to a raft, eh ? And what hap 
 pened ? Did you tumble overboard from it ?" 
 
 " No, sir. I came to this island in the skiff, and 
 was trying to make a line fast, when the skiff got 
 away from me." 
 
 " And they didn t notice it through the gloom 
 until it was too late to do anything, and so you got 
 left ! Yes, yes. I see just how it all happened ! 
 Such accidents are of common occurrence on the 
 river, and you were very fortunate to find us here. 
 I shall be delighted to have yon for a guest to 
 night, and in the morning your friends will un 
 doubtedly return to look for you." 
 
 As he thus rattled on in cheery fashion, Cap n 
 Cod gathered up W inn s wet clothing, prepara 
 tory to taking them to the galley to be dried. 
 Not finding either coat or shoes in the water- 
 soaked pile, he inquired if the boy had left the 
 raft without them. 
 
 " No, sir," replied Winn ; " but I took them off, 
 and left them in the skiff." 
 
 " You did ! That s bad ; for when your friends 
 find the skiff with your clothes in it, they will be 
 apt to imagine you are drowned. Then they ll 
 search the river below here for your body, instead 
 of coming back to look for you. Never mind, 
 
A Story of the Great River. 133 
 
 though," he added quickly, mistaking the expres 
 sion of relief which this suggestion brought to 
 W inn s face for one of dismay, " we ll soon re 
 lieve their anxiety. We ll get a mule, and put 
 him in here as quick as our show earns his price. 
 Then we ll go humming down the river faster 
 than any raft that ever drifted. We may be 
 several days in overtaking them, but I shall be 
 only too happy to have you remain with us for 
 that length of time, and longer, too, if you will. 
 I am greatly in need of an assistant to help me 
 run the show. So if you are willing to take hold 
 and work with us, the obligation will be wholly on 
 my side." 
 
 " Of course I will, sir !" exclaimed Winn, whose 
 spirits were rising as the difficulties of his situation 
 began to disappear. " I will do anything I can, 
 only I didn t know this was a show-boat, and I m 
 afraid I am pretty ignorant about shows any 
 way." 
 
 " That will be all right," replied the Captain. 
 u My own experience in the dramatic line has been 
 so extensive that I shall have no difficulty in post 
 ing you. I am surprised, though, that you did not 
 recognize this boat as having been built by one of 
 the profession, and especially adapted to its re 
 quirements. There are certain features about the 
 Whatnot which, by the way, I consider a most 
 
IS 4 Raft/mates : 
 
 original and attractive name that are intended to 
 indicate " 
 
 " Suppah, sail ! An Missy Sabel awaitin ," in 
 terrupted Solon, thrusting his woolly head into 
 the doorway at that moment. 
 
 Glad as Winn was of this diversion, and though 
 he was as thankful as only a famished boy can be 
 that a bountiful meal awaited him, he would will 
 ingly have gone hungry a little longer rather than 
 enter that dining-room just then. Although the 
 engine-room did not afford a mirror, he was con 
 scious that he must present about as absurd a 
 figure as can well be conceived. He was bare 
 footed, and the left leg of his trousers was turned 
 up to keep it from the floor, while the right, ow 
 ing to the Captain s misfortune, barely reached his 
 ankle. A checkered woolen shirt hung about him 
 in folds, and over it he wore a garment that Cap n 
 Cod was pleased to style his "professional coat." 
 It was a blue swallow-tail, with bright brass but 
 tons. As worn by Winn the tails hung nearly to 
 the floor, the cuffs were turned back over hig 
 wrists, and the collar rubbed against his ears. 
 
 " A pretty costume in which to appear before a 
 strange girl," thought poor Winn, who was noted 
 at home for being fastidious concerning his dress 
 and personal appearance. " I know I must look 
 like a guy, and she can t help laughing, of course ; 
 
A Story of the Great River. 135 
 
 but if she does, I ll never speak to her as long as I 
 live, and I ll leave this craft the very first chance 
 I get." 
 
 While these thoughts were crowding fast upon 
 one another, the boj was being dragged into the 
 dining-room by Cap n Cod, and formally presented 
 as " Mr. Winn, of Massachusetts," to " my grand- 
 niece Sabella, sir." 
 
 Winn will never know whether the girl laughed 
 or not, for at that moment Don Blossom, who had 
 been seated on the floor daintily nibbling a sweet 
 biscuit, sprang chattering to her shoulder and 
 buried his face in her hair, as he had done upon 
 the boy s first appearance. This episode formed 
 such a seasonable diversion that by the time the 
 girl succeeded in freeing herself from the clutches 
 of her pet, Winn was seated at the table with the 
 most conspicuous portion of his absurd costume 
 concealed beneath its friendly shelter. 
 
 During the meal Winn and Sabella exchanged 
 furtive glances, which each hoped the other would 
 not notice, and the boy, at least, blushed furiously 
 whenever one of his was detected. Although 
 neither of them said much, the meal was by no 
 means a silent one; for the Captain maintained a 
 steady and cheerful flow of conversation from its 
 beginning to its end. He told Sabella a thrilling 
 tale of Winn s narrow escape from drowning, and 
 
136 Raftmates : A Story of the Great Riner. 
 
 how his friends were at that moment drifting far 
 away down the river, anxiously speculating as to 
 his fate. Then he told Winn of the painting of 
 the panorama, the building of the Whatnot, and 
 of his plans for the future. 
 
 When the meal finally came to an end, on ac 
 count of Winn s inability to eat any more, the boy 
 was surprised to find how much at home he had 
 been made to feel by the unaffected simplicity and 
 unobtrusive kindness of these strangers. 
 
 While Sabella and Solon cleared the table, the 
 Captain lighted a lantern and showed him over 
 the boat. Thus the boy discovered that while its 
 after -part was devoted to the engine-room and 
 quarters for an animated, one-mule-power engine, a 
 galley, and the general living-room, the remainder 
 of the house was arranged as an entertainment 
 hall, with a small curtained stage at one end, and 
 seats for one hundred spectators. Cap n Cod in 
 formed him that this was to be his sleeping apart 
 ment so long as he remained with them. The 
 Captain slept in the pilot-house, while Sabella s 
 dainty little room was in the after-house on the 
 upper deck, and was connected with the living- 
 room by a flight of inside stairs. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FOLLOWING THE TRAIL. 
 
 THE next morning, when Winn opened his eyes 
 after the first night of undisturbed sleep he had 
 enjoyed since leaving home, he was for a moment 
 greatly puzzled to account for his surroundings. 
 His bed had been made down in the exhibition 
 hall on two benches drawn close together, and as 
 he awoke, he found himself staring at a most mar 
 vellous painting that occupied the full height and 
 nearly the entire width of the stage at the farther 
 end of the hall. It was a lurid scene, but so filled 
 with black shadows that to a vivid imagination it 
 might represent any one of many things. While 
 the boy was wondering if the young woman in 
 yellow who appeared in the upper corner of the 
 picture, with outstretched arms and dishevelled 
 hair, was about to commit suicide by flinging her 
 self from the second story of the factory, and only 
 hesitated for fear of crushing the badly frightened 
 young man in red who from the street below 
 had evidently just discovered his peril, a door 
 opened, and his host of the evening before tiptoed 
 into the room. 
 
138 Raftmates : 
 
 The expression " tiptoed " is here used to indi 
 cate the extreme caution of Cap n Cod s entrance, 
 and his evident desire to effect it as noiselessly aa 
 possible. As he could only tiptoe on one foot, 
 however, and had neglected to muffle the iron- 
 shod peg that served him in place of the other, 
 his progress was attended with more than its usual 
 amount of noise. He appeared relieved to find 
 Winn awake, and advancing with a cordial greet 
 ing, he laid the boy s own clothing, now cleaned 
 and dried, within his reach. " I should have sent 
 Solon in with these," he explained, " but for fear 
 he might make a noise that would rouse you, and 
 I noticed last evening that you were sadly in need 
 of sleep. So, if you had not been awake, I should 
 have stolen away as noiselessly as I entered, and 
 left you to have your nap out. Now, however, I 
 think you had better come to breakfast, for Sa- 
 bella and I finished ours some time ago." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Winn. " I will be out in 
 half a minute ; but will you please explain that 
 painting? I have been studying it ever since I 
 woke." 
 
 " That," replied the Captain, with an accent of 
 honest pride, " is what I consider one of my chef- 
 dovers. I term it a Shakespearian composite. 
 In order to please the tastes of certain audiences, I 
 shall describe it as the balcony scene between 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 1S9 
 
 Romeo and Juliet. You may note Romeo s man 
 dolin lying at his feet, while over the whole falls 
 the melancholy light of a full moon rising behind 
 the palace. To suit a less -intelligent class, it 
 would perhaps be described as the escape of a 
 Turkish captive by leaping from the upper floor 
 of the Sultan s seraglio into the arms of her 
 gallant rescuer, who would be American, British, 
 French, German, or Spanish, according to the pre 
 dominating nationality of my audience. Or it 
 might be called A Thrilling Incident of the Great 
 New York Fire, in which case Juliet s moonlight 
 would be spoken of as i devastating flames, and 
 Romeo s mandolin would figure as a fireman s 
 helmet. It is a painting of infinite possibilities, 
 any one of which may be impressed upon an 
 audience by a judiciously selected title and the 
 skilful directing of their imagination. Although 
 I am proud of this picture, I have a number 
 of other composites that are even more star 
 tling than this in the variety of scenes that they 
 can be made to illustrate. By studying them you 
 will learn that the whole secret of artistic success 
 lies in the selection of titles that appeal to and 
 direct the imagination of the critic, the spectator, 
 or the would-be purchaser. I would gladly exhibit 
 and explain them to you now, but business before 
 pleasure ; so, if you are dressed, let us to breakfast." 
 
140 Raftmates : 
 
 While Winn was eating his late breakfast, Billy 
 Brackett, only a couple of miles away, was gazing 
 with an expression of the blankest amazement at 
 his nephew s note-book. " How in the name of 
 all that is mysterious and improbable did this 
 book happen to be in that coat, that coat in that 
 skiff, that skiff on that raft, and that raft here? 
 It certainly seems as though I had brought the 
 skiff from the raft at least this man says I did. 
 You are certain that I came in that identical boat, 
 are you ?" 
 
 " Certain, sir," replied the watchman to whom 
 this question was addressed. 
 
 " No one else could have come in this skiff, and 
 then gone off in mine by mistake ?" 
 
 " Impossible, sir. I have been wide-awake all 
 night, and there has not been another soul aboard 
 this wharf -boat until just now. Besides, I took 
 that coat from the skiff just after you left it last 
 evening." 
 
 "Then," said Billy Brackett, "the chain of evi 
 dence seems to be unbroken, incredible as it may 
 appear, and it stretches from here straight away 
 down the river book coat, coat skiff, skiff raft, 
 raft Winn. Now, in order to bring its ends to 
 gether, and recover my long-lost nephew, I must 
 again overtake that raft. I must start as soon as 
 possible after breakfast, too. I don t know wheth- 
 
A Story of the Great Itiver. 141 
 
 er the game Winn and I are playing is blind-man s- 
 buff or hide-and-seek, but it certainly resembles 
 both." 
 
 Musing over this new aspect of the situation, the 
 young engineer hastened back to his hotel and 
 breakfast. In the dining-room, a few minutes 
 later, a waiter was leaning over him, and asking, 
 for the third time, " Tea or coffee, sir, an how ll 
 you have your eggs ?" when the inattentive guest 
 suddenly caused him to jump as though galvan 
 ized, by bringing his fist down on the table with a 
 crash, and exclaiming, " No, by the great horn- 
 spoon, it can t be that way either! "What s that 
 you say? Oh yes, of course. Coffee, soft-boiled, 
 and as quick as you can." Having delivered this 
 order, the young man fixed his intent gaze on a 
 brown spot ornamenting the table-cloth, and re 
 sumed his thinking. 
 
 It had just occurred to him that, according to 
 all accounts, the raft from which he had taken 
 that skiff had come down the river to this point 
 two days before. So how could Winn Caspar, 
 who had only escaped from the island a few 
 minutes before he and Bim made good their 
 own retreat, have reached the same place and 
 joined that raft without attracting attention? 
 Both the day and night watchmen at the wharf- 
 boat had assured him that no such boy as he 
 
142 Raftmates: 
 
 described had been seen on the water-front. They 
 also said that the raft had been there all the day be 
 fore, and that when it left it held only the three 
 men who came with it. " Of course he might have 
 been inside the i shanty when I was aboard, though 
 I can t see how he got there, nor why he should 
 join a strange raft anyway," argued the young 
 man. "At any rate, it s my business to find out 
 whether or not he is aboard it now. How about 
 using the skiff, though ? If it is the one Winn ran 
 off with, it belongs to that Sheriff fellow. Like 
 as not, he has already sent word down the river to 
 have it picked up. In that case, if I was picked 
 np in it, I might be accused of stealing it, which 
 would never do in the world. ISTo ; to be on the 
 safe side I must leave the skiff here, and take the 
 first down-river steamboat that stops at this land 
 ing. First, though, I ll advertise for Winn in this 
 town, and if I don t find him on the raft, there 
 may be news waiting for me here when I come 
 back." 
 
 This was the plan upon which the young engi 
 neer decided to" act, and immediately after break 
 fast he proceeded to put it into execution. 
 
 There was no paper published in the place, but 
 it did contain a makeshift sort of a printing- 
 office, and towards this Billy Brackett directed his 
 steps, after learning at what hour the next down- 
 
A Story of ike Great River. 143 
 
 river boat was expected. Here he spent some time 
 in composing a small circular, of which he ordered 
 five hundred copies to be struck off, and distrib 
 uted broadcast. His boat came along and he had 
 to leave before this was ready for press ; but he 
 had engaged the services of his new acquaintance 
 the night-watchman, who promised to place the 
 bills wherever they would do good. 
 
 Poor Bim, tied up on the wharf-boat, and nearly 
 heart-broken at his master s desertion, was also left 
 in charge of this man. Billy Brackett was de 
 sirous of establishing friendly relations with the 
 raftsmen when he should overtake them, and 
 feared that would be impossible in case they should 
 recognize him. This they would certainly do if 
 he were accompanied by the bull-dog, whom one 
 of them at least had reason to remember so 
 well. 
 
 At another small landing, nearly a hundred 
 miles farther down the river, Messrs. Gilder, 
 Grirnshaw, and Plater were rendered somewhat 
 uneasy, late on the following day, by the ap 
 pearance on board their raft of a young man who 
 asked questions. Billy Brackett had experienced 
 considerable difficulty in finding this raft, and was 
 greatly disappointed that his search in this direc 
 tion should prove fruitless. The raftsmen had 
 never heard of Major Caspar, nor of Wiim Caspar, 
 
144 Baftmates: 
 
 his son. They were lumbermen from far up on 
 the Wisconsin River, and were taking this raft to 
 New Orleans as a speculation. They knew noth 
 ing of Sheriff Riley or his skiff. Yes, they had 
 picked up an empty skiff two days before, but it 
 had been taken away and another left in its place 
 by a young fellow with a dog, who had boarded 
 their raft without invitation, set his dog on one of 
 them, and then skipped. They would like to meet 
 that party again yes, they would and they d 
 make things pretty lively for him. 
 
 Then they began asking questions in turn, and 
 assuming such a hostile tone that Billy Brackett 
 concluded he might as well leave then as later. So, 
 after asking them to keep a sharp lookout for a 
 raft with three " shanties, two of which were 
 filled with wheat, he bade them good-evening, and 
 started back up the river by rail. 
 
 In the mean time the Whatnot had reached the 
 town to which he was returning, and was now tied 
 up just below the wharf-boat. It had been de 
 cided that the first exhibition of the " Floating 
 Panoramic Show " should be given here, and 
 Cap n Cod went up into the town as soon as they 
 arrived to have some bills printed. Winn, at the 
 same time, started along the water-front to search 
 for traces of his lost raft; and Sabella, who was 
 very fond of dogs, went aboard the wharf-boat to 
 
A Story of the Great River. IJfi 
 
 make the acquaintance of a fine bull-dog she had 
 noticed there as they passed. 
 
 At supper-time they all gathered again in the 
 living-room of the Whatnot, where Sabella re 
 ported her new friend to be the most splendid 
 bull-dog she had ever seen, and that his name 
 was Bim. 
 
 This name at once attracted W inn s attention, 
 and he said he had an uncle somewhere out in 
 California who owned a dog named Bim. Then 
 the boy reported that nothing had been seen or 
 heard of his raft, though he did not tell them he 
 had discovered Sheriff Riley s skiff. 
 
 Cap n Cod remarked that if he could only claim 
 all the rewards he had just seen offered, he could 
 afford to run the Whatnot by steam. " There is 
 one of a thousand dollars," he said, "for any in 
 formation that will lead to the capture of a gang 
 of counterfeiters, supposed to be operating in this 
 vicinity. Then there is one of a hundred dollars 
 for the arrest of the fellow who ran off with Sheriff 
 Riley s skiff, and who is supposed to be a member 
 of the same gang. There is still another, of an 
 equal amount, for any information as to the where 
 abouts, if he is still living, or for the recovery of 
 the body of a boy named Caspar, the only son of 
 my old friend, Major John Caspar, of Caspar s Mill, 
 in Wisconsin. He has disappeared most unac- 
 
146 Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 countably, together with a raft owned by his 
 father. By-the-way, his first name is the same as 
 your last one, which is a little odd, for Winn is 
 not a common name. That s what it is, though, 
 Winn Caspar. " 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A CURIOUS COMPLICATION. 
 
 "So that is what I was arrested for, is it!" 
 thought Winn. " I was supposed to be one of a 
 gang of counterfeiters, and a pretty desperate sort 
 of a character. That will be a pretty good joke 
 to tell father. But I wonder who is offering a 
 reward for me as plain every-day Winn Caspar, 
 besides the one that would be paid for the young 
 counterfeiter who ran off with the Sheriff s boat ?" 
 
 This is what Winn thought. What he said was, 
 " My ! but that is a lot of money ! Wouldn t it 
 be fine if we could earn those twelve hundred 
 dollars?" 
 
 "Indeed it would," answered the old man. 
 " Even one of the smaller rewards would buy us a 
 mule." 
 
 " Who is offering them ?" asked Winn. 
 
 " The Government offers the first, Sheriff Ri- 
 ley the second, and the third is offered by some 
 one named Brickell. W. Brickell, the bills are 
 signed. I saw them up at the printing-office, bu* 
 they are being distributed all over the place." 
 
Maftmate* : 
 
 Sure enough, in that wretched little printing- 
 office the compositor had made " Brickell " out of 
 Bracket t, and as he was his own proof-reader, the 
 mistake was not discovered. 
 
 u Brickell," repeated Winn, slowly. " That is a 
 queer name, and one that I never heard before." 
 
 " Yes, it is one that has puzzled me a good deal," 
 said Cap n Cod. " I m sure I never heard Major 
 Caspar mention any such person." 
 
 " You know this Major Caspar, then ?" 
 
 " Know him ! Well, I should say I did. We 
 were in the same regiment all through the war, 
 and a better officer never commanded men. Know 
 him ! I know him to the extent of a leg, lost 
 when I was standing so close beside him that if 
 I hadn t been there the ball would have taken his 
 instead of mine. Know him ! Didn t I know 
 him for three months in the hospital, where he 
 came to see me every day ? Indeed I do know 
 Major Caspar, and I should be mighty glad to 
 know of any way in which I could help him out 
 of his present trouble." 
 
 "It is strange that I never heard father speak 
 of any Aleck Fifield," thought Winn. He was 
 about to ask some more questions, but was re 
 strained by the remembrance of his present pe 
 culiar position. The same thought checked his 
 inclination to say, "I am Winn Caspar, sir, the 
 
A Story of the Great Rimer. 149 
 
 eon of your friend Major Caspar, of Caspar s Mill." 
 Instead of that he said to himself, " I will wait 
 until we get away from this place ; or, at any rate, 
 until I can receive a letter from home that will 
 prove who I am. Otherwise he might find out 
 about the Sheriff s skiff, and think I had made up 
 the story to escape arrest as a thief." 
 
 So Winn held his peace, and only asked his 
 host if he would furnish him the materials for 
 writing a letter home. Provided with these, he 
 wrote to his mother as follows : 
 
 "MANDRAKE, IOWA. 
 
 "My OWN DEAR MOTHER, I write to you in 
 stead of to father, as I suppose he must be some 
 where on the river hunting for me by this time, 
 though I have not seen him yet. 
 
 " I am all right, and having a fine time, but have 
 lost the raft. I am on board a boat called the 
 Whatnot, with some very kind people a gentle 
 man named Fifield, a girl named Sabella, a funny 
 old darky named Solon, and a monkey named Don 
 Blossom. I am bound to find the raft again if it 
 is still afloat, and am going to keep on down the 
 river in this boat until we catch up with it. 
 
 " I shall be here long enough for you to answer 
 this letter ; and send me some money, please, and 
 tell me all about everybody. Give my dear love 
 
150 Raftmates : 
 
 to Elta, and tell her I wish she knew Sabella and 
 Don Blossom. She is just the kind of a girl, and 
 he is just the kind of a monkey, a fellow likes to 
 know. 
 
 " Now it is late, and I must turn in, for I am 
 working my passage on this boat, and Solon and I 
 must take the place of a mule to-morrow, and till 
 we can earn money enough to buy one. So good 
 bye, from your affectionate son, WINN." 
 
 While the boy was writing, Cap n Cod went 
 ashore, and when the former took his letter to the 
 post-office, he met his host there with two letters 
 in his hand. They followed Winn s into the box, 
 but he did not see the address on either of them. 
 If he had, he would have been more troubled than 
 ever, for one was addressed to the Sheriff of Du- 
 buque County, and the other to his own father. 
 
 The old man had seen and recognized the skiff 
 that he had built for Sheriff Kiley as it lay tied to 
 the wharf-boat, but had thought it best to keep 
 this discovery to himself until he could communi 
 cate with its owner. By cautious inquiries he 
 learned that the skiff had been left there by a 
 young man calling himself Brackett, who had gone 
 on down the river, but was expected back in a day 
 or two. Cap n Cod would have telegraphed to 
 Sheriff Kiley but for the fact that the wires had 
 
A Story of ike Great River. 161 
 
 not yet been extended to Mandrake. So he wrote 
 and begged the Sheriff to hasten down the river 
 by first boat. 
 
 He also wrote to Major Caspar, expressing his 
 sympathy, telling him that he was now travelling 
 down the Mississippi in his own boat, the Whatnot, 
 asking for full particulars concerning the lost boy, 
 and offering to make every effort to discover his 
 whereabouts. 
 
 On the morning of that very day, just before 
 his departure from Mandrake, Billy Brackett had 
 also written and mailed a letter that read as 
 follows : 
 
 " MY DEAR SISTER, I am up a stump just at 
 present, but hope to climb down very soon. In 
 other words, your boy is smarter than I took him 
 to be. He has not only managed to hide the raft, 
 but himself as well, and both so completely that 
 thus far I have had but little success in tracing 
 them. I have reason to believe that he and I 
 spent some time very close to each other on an 
 island the night I left you, but before daylight 
 he had again disappeared, leaving no trace. After 
 that I learned nothing concerning him until reach 
 ing this place, when I again struck the trail. I am 
 now following a warm scent, and expect to run 
 the young fox to earth within a few hours. 
 
152 Itaftmates : 
 
 u So much for the boy. As for the raft, its disap 
 pearance is even more complete and unaccountable 
 than his. There is absolutely nothing to report 
 concerning it. I have boarded several rafts, but 
 none of them bears the slightest resemblance to 
 the Venture, which I am certain I should recognize 
 at a glance. However, when I find Winn he will 
 of course be able to put me on the right track, and 
 the subsequent recovery of the raft will prove an 
 easy rmtter. 
 
 " If yon have any news, send it to me at this 
 place, where I shall remain until I hear from you. 
 
 " Love to Elta. Tell her that last evening I ran 
 across the queerest craft I ever saw, with the queer 
 est name I ever heard of. It is called the Whatnot. 
 Of course its Captain knew nothing of Winn, 
 and I did not expect he would ; but I make it my 
 business to inquire of every one I meet or pass. 
 
 " Hoping to be able to send you better news 
 within a day or two, I am your loving brother, 
 
 " WILLIAM." 
 
 As this letter reached Caspar s Mill in the same 
 mail with those from Winn and the owner of the 
 Whatnot, who, in writing to the Major, had used 
 his old army name, and signed himself " Respect 
 fully yours, Cap n Cod," it may easily be imag 
 ined that Billy Brackett s perplexity was as noth- 
 
A Story of the Great River. 163 
 
 ing compared to that of his sister. What could it 
 all mean? Winn was alive and well; his letter 
 brought that comfort. But what did he mean by 
 stating that he was on board that boat with the 
 absurd name, when both William and Captain Cod 
 stated that he was not there. Then, too, how could 
 it be possible for those three persons, each of whom 
 was anxious to find one of the others, to be in a 
 small place, such as this Mandrake must be, for sev 
 eral days without running across each other? Such 
 stupidity was incredible, and could only be ac 
 counted for by the fact that all three were of the 
 masculine sex. Well, she would soon set things to 
 rights, and the fond mother smiled to herself to 
 think that it was left for her, who had remained qui 
 etly at home, to discover the missing boy after all. 
 She had but a few minutes in which to catch 
 the return mail ; but when it left, it bore three 
 notes in her handwriting. The one directed to Mr. 
 Winn Caspar, Mandrake, Iowa, read as follows : 
 
 " Mr DAKLINQ BOY, How could you leave us as 
 you did ? And why don t you come home ? Don t 
 lose a minute in hunting up your Uncle Billy, who 
 is now in Mandrake. He will supply you with 
 money, and tell you what to do. 
 
 " Ever lovingly, but in great haste, 
 
 " YOUR OWN MOTHER." 
 
154 Raftmates : 
 
 To the Captain of the Whatnot Mrs. Caspar 
 wrote : 
 
 "Bra, In the absence of my husband, I took 
 the liberty of opening your note to him of the 1st 
 inst. In it you write that you are anxious to dis 
 cover our boy s whereabouts, when, by the same 
 mail, I am advised by him that he is on board the 
 very boat of which you claim to be Captain and 
 owner. I of course take my boy s word in prefer 
 ence to that of any stranger. Having thus detected 
 the hollowness of your sympathy, and the falseness 
 of your pretended friendship for my husband, I 
 must request you to refrain from further meddling 
 in this matter. Yours etc., ELLEN CASPAR." 
 
 Fortunately, as this letter was addressed to Cap 
 tain Cod, Esq., instead of to Mr. Aleck Fifield, 
 the old man never received it, and in due time it 
 was returned to the writer from the Dead -letter 
 Office. 
 
 To Billy Brackett Mrs. Caspar wrote : 
 
 "MY DEAR GOOSE OF A BROTHER, 1 have JUSt 
 
 received a letter from Winn written at Mandrake. 
 He is on the Mantel-piece, and out of money. 
 Please supply him with whatever he needs, and 
 bring him home to me as quickly as possible. As 
 
A Story of the Great J^iver. 156 
 
 for the raft, I am sorry, of conrse, that you cannot 
 find it ; but so long as Winn is safe, nothing else 
 seems to matter. 
 
 " John writes full of enthusiasm concerning the 
 contract, and I shall tell him nothing of your ab 
 surd doings until you and Winn are safely back 
 here. Ever lovingly your sister, ELLEN." 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BIM GROWLS. 
 
 DURING the following day, while these letters 
 were on their way to the little Iowa town in 
 which the principal actors in this story were play 
 ing at such cross -purposes, active preparations 
 were being made on board the Whatnot for the 
 first exhibition of its panorama. In those days 
 the panorama filled the place now taken by the 
 stereopticon ; and though its crude pictures lacked 
 the photographic truth of lantern slides, they were 
 by no means devoid of interest. In fact, their 
 gorgeousness of color, and the vagueness of detail 
 that allowed each to represent several scenes, ac 
 cording to the pleasure of the lecturer, rendered 
 them quite as popular, if not so instructive, as their 
 modern successors. 
 
 The success of a panorama, however, depended 
 largely upon the person who explained its pictures. 
 If he were witty, and knew how to tell the good 
 story of which each one was certain to remind 
 him, all went well, and the fame of that panorama 
 spread far and wide. If, on the other hand, he 
 
Raftmates: A Story of the Great River. 157 
 
 was prosy, and offered only dry explanations of 
 his pictures, the impatient river -town audience 
 did not hesitate to express their dissatisfaction, 
 and the exhibition was apt to close with a riot. 
 
 All this was well known to Cap n Cod ; but 
 twenty years of absence from the stage had caused 
 him to lose sight of his first and only humiliating 
 appearance before an audience, and had restored 
 all his youthful confidence in his own abilities. 
 He was therefore to be the lecturer of his own 
 show, while Winn and Solon were to enter the 
 treadmill, and supply, as well as they could, the 
 place of a mule in furnishing power to move the 
 heavy roll of paintings. Sabella was also to remain 
 out of sight, but was to grind out music from the 
 hand-organ whenever it might be needed. This 
 was only a temporary position, and would be filled 
 by either Winn or Solon after a mule had been 
 obtained for the treadmill. Sabella s real duty 
 was to dress Don Blossom, and see that he went on 
 the stage at the proper time. 
 
 The hour for giving these arrangements a public 
 test finally arrived. By eight o clock the exhibi 
 tion hall of the Whatnot was packed with an 
 audience that contained a number of raftsmen and 
 steamboat hands from the water-front. These 
 were good-naturedly noisy, and indulged in cat 
 calls, stampings, and other manifestations of their 
 
158 Raftmates: 
 
 impatience for the curtain to rise. An occasional 
 lull in the tumult allowed the droning notes of 
 the " Sweet By-and-By," then new and extremely 
 popular, to be heard, as they were slowly ground 
 out from the hand-organ by the invisible Sabella. 
 
 At length they ceased ; the little drop-curtain 
 was slowly rolled up so as to expose the first pict 
 ure, and Cap n Cod, pointer in hand, in all the 
 glory of the blue swallow-tail with brass buttons, 
 stepped on the stage. His appearance was greeted 
 with a silence that was almost painful in its con- 
 trast with the previous tumult. 
 
 Now for the neat introductory speech that the 
 old man had prepared so carefully and rehearsed 
 until he knew every word by heart. He stepped 
 forward, and gazed appealingly at the silent au 
 dience; but no word came from his dry lips. 
 He swallowed convulsively, and appeared to be 
 struggling with himself. A titter of laughter 
 sounded from the back of the room. The old 
 man s face became fiery red and then deathly pale. 
 He looked helplessly and pitifully from side to 
 side. 
 
 "Wind him up!" shouted a voice. 
 
 " He s stopped short, never to go again," called 
 another. 
 
 " He s an old fraud, and his show s a fake!" 
 
 "Speech! speech!" 
 
A Story of the Great River. 159 
 
 " No ; a song ! Let old dot-and-carry-one give 
 ns a song !" 
 
 " Oh, shut up ! Don t you see he s a ballet- 
 
 doti 
 ancer i 
 
 And so the derisive jeerings of this audience, 
 like those of another twenty years before, hailed 
 Cap n Cod s second failure. His confidence in 
 himself, his years of experience, the memory of 
 what he ought to say, all vanished the moment he 
 faced that mass of upturned faces, and he was once 
 more the dumb, trembling Codringhampton of 
 twenty years before. A mist swam before his 
 eyes, he groped blindly with his hands, the derisive 
 yells of the river-men, who were endeavoring to 
 secure their money s worth of amusement from 
 this pitiful spectacle, grew fainter and fainter in 
 his ears. He tottered backward, and would have 
 fallen, had not a young man from the audience 
 sprang to his assistance. 
 
 Very tenderly he helped the old man from the 
 stage and into the friendly shadows of the side 
 scenes. In another moment he reappeared. With 
 flashing eyes he stepped in front of the turbulent 
 audience and held up his hand. The curiosity of 
 the river-men was sufficient to produce an almost 
 instant silence, which in another second might 
 have changed into an angry roar. 
 
 Who was this young fellow? What business 
 
160 Raftmates : 
 
 had he to interfere with their fun ? What was he 
 going to say? He d better be careful! They 
 were not in a humor to be trifled with. 
 
 For a moment he looked steadily at them. 
 Then he said : 
 
 " Boys, I am surprised, and if I thought for a 
 moment that you really meant to worry that old 
 man, I should be ashamed of you. But I know 
 you didn t It was only your fun. He has been a 
 soldier, and lost a leg fighting for you and me and 
 to preserve the glorious Union, that you and I are 
 prouder of than anything else in life. He has a 
 daughter in there too a young girl, for whom 
 he is trying to make a living with this show. I 
 saw her just now, and if you could have seen the 
 look of distress and terror on her face as she 
 sprang to the old man s side you would feel as I 
 do about this business. You would know, as I do, 
 that this was no fake, but a square A, number one 
 show, packed full and running over with good 
 things, worth ten times the price of admission. 
 You d know that it was just the bulliest show ever 
 seen on this little old river, and you d turn in with 
 a will to help me prove it. I am a stranger, just 
 arrived in town, and never set eyes on this outfit 
 before ; but I m willing to put up my last dollar 
 on the fact that this show is so much better than 
 I ve said that as soon as you ve seen it once, you ll 
 
A Story of the Great River. 16t 
 
 want to see it right over again, you ll come to it 
 every evening that it stays here, and then you ll 
 follow it down the river on the chance of seeing it 
 again. Hello, inside ! Turn on your steam, and 
 set your whirligig to moving." 
 
 By this time the good-nature of the audience 
 was fully restored, and, amid encouraging cries 
 of " That s the talk !" " King the jingle-bell and 
 give her a full head !" " Sweep her out into the 
 current and toot your horn, stranger !" the pano 
 rama began slowly to unroll. The young man 
 picked up the pointer, and the moment the second 
 picture a lurid scene that Cap n Cod had entitled 
 " The Burning of Moscow " was fully exposed to 
 view, he began : 
 
 " There you have it, gentlemen ! One of the 
 most thrilling events of this century. The great 
 San Francisco fire of 55. City swept clean from 
 the face of the earth, and built up again, finer than 
 before, inside of a month. I tell you, fellows, those 
 Calif ornians are rustlers ! Why, I met a man out 
 in Frisco last month whom I knew, two years 
 ago, as a raftsman on this very river at twenty a 
 month and found. To-day he is worth a cool mill 
 ion of dollars, and if you want to know how he 
 made it, I ll let you into the secret." 
 
 And so the young stranger rattled on with story 
 and joke, never pausing to study the panoramic 
 
162 Raftmates: 
 
 scenes as they moved slowly along, but giving 
 each the first title that suggested itself, and work 
 ing in descriptions to fit the titles. He kept it up 
 for more than an hour; and when Sabella, who 
 was watching him from the side scenes with ad 
 miring wonder, called out softly that the picture 
 he was then describing was the last, he gracefully 
 dismissed as delighted an audience as ever attend 
 ed a river show, and disappeared with them. 
 
 Billy Brackett had come up the Illinois side of 
 the river by rail and stage, and had been ferried 
 across to Mandrake just in time to be attracted by 
 the incipient riot aboard the Whatnot. Led to the 
 scene by curiosity, his generous indignation was 
 aroused by the sight of the helpless old man and 
 his tormentors. Now, to avoid being thanked for 
 what he had done, he hurried away, released Bim 
 from his confinement on the wharf-boat, to that 
 bow-legged animal s intense joy, and went to the 
 hotel for the night. 
 
 The next morning, when he came down into 
 the office, the clerk handed him Mrs. Caspar s 
 letter. He stood by the desk and read it. Then 
 he read it again, with a frown of perplexity deep 
 ening on his forehead. " Winn here, on board the 
 Mantel-piece, and out of money ! What can Ellen 
 mean ? She must be losing her mind." 
 
 The young man was so engrossed with this 
 
A Story of the Great Elver. 163 
 
 letter that he paid no attention to the other occu 
 pants of the room. Thus he did not see Cap n 
 Cod and his niece enter the front door, nor notice 
 that the former was greeted by two men who had 
 been talking earnestly together and watching him 
 with great interest. Nor did he see Sabella stoop 
 to pat Bim, who had gone to meet her. He did 
 not notice the entrance a moment later of a boy 
 with a very puzzled expression of countenance 
 and an open letter in his hand. Neither did lie 
 see that the boy was accompanied by the printer 
 who had furnished his reward notices, and who 
 now pointed in his direction, saying, " That s him 
 there. That s Mr. Brickell." 
 
 At the same moment Sabella exclaimed, " Oh, 
 Winn, here s Bim ! Isn t he a dear dog?" Then 
 she too caught sight of Billy Brackett, and pulling 
 Cap n Cod by the sleeve, whispered, " There he is, 
 uncle. That is the gentleman you have come to 
 thank for helping us so splendidly last evening." 
 
 While she was thus whispering into one ear, the 
 night watchman of the wharf-boat, who stood on 
 the other side of the old man, was saying, in a low 
 tone, " Yes, sir. As I was just telling the Sheriff, 
 that s the man as stole his skiff, for I saw him 
 when he landed here in it." 
 
 Sheriff Riley, who had only reached Mandrake 
 iialf an hour before, was staring at Winn. and 
 
164 Ro/i/mates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 saying to himself, " There s the young rascal now. 
 I knew it wasn t that other fellow, though some 
 how his face is strangely familiar too." 
 
 There was a momentary hesitation on all sides. 
 Then, as though moved by a single impulse, Winn 
 started towards Billy Brackett to ask him if his 
 name was Brickell, Cap n Cod stepped up to ex 
 press his heart -felt gratitude for what he had 
 done the evening before, and Sheriff Riley moved 
 towards Winn with the intention of arresting him. 
 At this Bim, recognizing the Sheriff, stationed 
 himself in front of his preoccupied master, erected 
 the bristles on the back of his neck, and growled. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 EVERY ONE EXPLAINS. 
 
 AT Bim s growl, Billy Brackett said " Be quiet, 
 sir!" and looked up. He wondered somewhat at 
 the number of persons advancing towards him, 
 and was also surprised to note that, with one ex 
 ception, they were all people whom he knew. 
 He recognized Sabella and her uncle, the wharf- 
 boat man, the printer, and even the Sheriff of Du- 
 buque County. The only one of the group whom 
 he had not seen before was the gentlemanly and 
 thoroughly honest -looking young fellow upon 
 whose shoulder the Sheriff had just laid his hand, 
 saying, 
 
 " I want you, my boy." 
 
 " I expect I want him more than you do, Sher 
 iff," remarked Billy Brackett, quietly, stepping 
 forward and laying a hand on Whin s other 
 shoulder. " You take him to be a thief, while I 
 take him to be my nephew; and, of course, if he is 
 the one, he can t be the other. Isn t your name 
 Winn Caspar ? Answer me that, you young 
 rascal !" 
 
166 Rafimaies: 
 
 " Yes," replied Winn, slowly, " that is my name. 
 But what a stupid I have been !" 
 
 " You mean in allowing yourself to be carried 
 off by the raft, and then losing it, and getting 
 arrested, and running off with the Sheriff s skiff, 
 and letting it go adrift with your coat in it, and 
 shipping aboard some craft that your dear mother 
 calls the Mantel-piece for a cruise down the river, 
 instead of getting along home and relieving the 
 anxiety of your distressed parents, to say nothing 
 of that of your aged uncle. Yes, it does seem to 
 me that in this instance the general brilliancy of 
 the family is somewhat clouded." 
 
 " I don t mean anything of the kind," answered 
 Winn, stoutly. " All these things might have 
 happened to any one, even to an uncle of your 
 advanced years and wisdom. So I am sure I 
 don t consider them proofs of stupidity. The 
 only stupid thing that I am willing to acknowledge 
 is that I didn t recognize Bim, after I d been told 
 there was a dog of that name here, too. That s 
 the thing I can t get over." 
 
 " But you had never seen him ! exclaimed 
 Billy Brackett. 
 
 "That makes no difference," was the calm re 
 ply. " I d heard so much about him that I ought 
 to have known him, and I can t forgive myself 
 that I didn t" 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 167 
 
 " How about running off with my boat ?" que 
 ried the Sheriff, who did not at all understand the 
 situation. 
 
 "I didn t run off with your boat. It ran off 
 with me first, and ran away from me afterwards. 
 If you hadn t taken the oars out I should have 
 rowed into Dubuque and sent some one back to 
 the island with her. As it was, I had to go wher 
 ever she chose to take me, until she set me ashore 
 on a tow-head, and went on down the river by her 
 self. I m glad of it, though, for if she hadn t, I 
 should never have found the Whatnot" 
 
 "The Whatnot!" exclaimed Billy Brackett. 
 " Are you living on board the Whatnot /" 
 
 " Yes, sir, this young gentleman is a guest on 
 board of my boat," said Cap n Cod, who now found 
 his first chance to speak; "and glad as I have 
 been to have him, it would have made me many 
 times happier to know that he was the son of 
 my old friend and commander. Why didn t yon 
 tell me the truth in the first place, boy ?" And the 
 veteran gazed reproachfully at Winn. 
 
 " I did tell you the truth so far as I told you 
 anything. I didn t dare tell you any more, be 
 cause I heard you say you were a friend of Sheriff 
 Riley, and knew his skiff. So I was afraid you 
 would have me arrested for running off with it, and 
 in that way delay me so that I would never find 
 
168 Raftonates : 
 
 the raft. Besides, I wanted to wait until I could 
 get a letter from home to prove who I am, and I 
 hadn t a chance to write until we got here." 
 
 " With me, the simple word of Major Caspar s 
 son would have been stronger than all the proof 
 in the world," said the loyal old soldier ; " and 
 though you did, as you say, tell the truth so far as 
 you told anything, you did not tell the whole 
 truth, as your father certainly would have done 
 had he been in your place." 
 
 " The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
 the truth," quoted the Sheriff, in his most official 
 tone. " But look here, Cap n Cod," he continued, 
 "you haven t yet explained what you know of 
 this young fellow, and his suspicious, or, to say the 
 least, queer performances on the river." 
 
 " Cap n Cod !" interrupted Winn. " Is your 
 name Cap n Cod ?" 
 
 " It is a name that I have been known to answer 
 to," replied the owner of the Whatnot; " and after 
 my performance of last evening I don t suppose I 
 shall ever be allowed to claim any other." 
 
 " If you had only told me all your names in the 
 first place," said Winn, with a sly twinkle in his 
 eyes, " I should probably have done the same. I 
 have so often heard my father speak of Cap n 
 Cod s goodness and honesty and bravery, that I 
 should have been perfectly willing to trust him; 
 
A Story of the Great Riven\ 169 
 
 though I was a bit suspicious of the Sheriff s 
 friend, Mr. Aleck Fifield." 
 
 " It s not the Sheriff s friends you need be sus 
 picious of, my lad, but his enemies," interrupted 
 Mr. Riley ; " and I wonder if you haven t fallen 
 in with them already. As I now understand this 
 case, you came down the river on a raft until you 
 reached the island near which I found you. What 
 became of your raft at that point ?" 
 
 " That is what I would like to know," replied 
 the boy. 
 
 " What !" cried Billy Brackett. " Do you mean 
 to say that you don t know where the raft is ?" 
 
 " ]STo more than I know how you happen to be 
 here instead of out in California, where I supposed 
 you were until five minutes ago. I haven t set 
 eyes on the Venture, nor found a trace of her, 
 since the first morning out from home." 
 
 "Well, if that doesn t beat everything !" said the 
 young engineer, with a comical tone of despair. 
 " I thought that after finding you the discovery of 
 the raft would follow as a matter of course ; but 
 now it begins to look farther away than ever." 
 
 "But in finding me," said Winn, "you have 
 found some one to help you find the raft." 
 
 " You ?" said the other, quizzically. " Why, I 
 was thinking of sending you home to your mother ; 
 that is, if the Sheriff here will allow you to go." 
 
110 Raftmates : 
 
 " I don t know about that," said the officer. "It 
 seems to me that I still know very little about this 
 young man. Who is to prove to me that he is the 
 son of Major Caspar ?" 
 
 " Oh, I can speak for that," replied Billy 
 Brackett. 
 
 "And I suppose he is ready to vouch for you ; 
 but that won t do. You see, you are both suspicious 
 characters, and unless some one whom I know as 
 well as I do Cap n Cod here can identify you, I 
 must take you both back to Dubuque." 
 
 " Captain Cod," repeated Billy Brackett, thought 
 fully. "I seem to have heard that name before. 
 Why, yes, I have a note of introduction from 
 Major Caspar to a Captain Cod, and I shouldn t 
 wonder if you were the very man. Here it is 
 now." 
 
 " I am proud to make your acquaintance, sir," 
 said the veteran, heartily, after glancing over the 
 note thus handed to him. " It s all right, Sheriff. 
 This is certainly the Major s handwriting, for I 
 know it as I do my own, and I don t want any 
 better proof that this gentleman is the person he 
 claims to be." 
 
 " Would you be willing to go on his bond for a 
 thousand dollars ?" asked Mr. Riley. 
 
 " I would, and for as much more as my own 
 property, together with what I hold in trust for 
 
A 8tory of the Great River. 171 
 
 my niece, would bring," answered the old man, 
 earnestly. 
 
 "And would you be willing that your money 
 should be risked on any such a venture ?" asked 
 the Sheriff, turning to Sabella with a smile. 
 
 "Indeed I would," answered the girl, promptly. 
 " After the splendid way Mr. Brackett helped us 
 last evening, I know whatever he says must be so." 
 
 "That will do," said Mr. Riley. "With such 
 sureties I am well content, and am willing to make 
 public acknowledgment that these gentlemen are 
 what they represent themselves to be. Now, for 
 their future guidance, I will tell them what I have 
 not yet hinted to a living soul. It is that their 
 raft has probably been stolen and taken down the 
 river by the most noted gang of counterfeiters 
 that has ever operated in this part of the country. 
 There are three of them, and I thought I had 
 surely run them to earth when I traced them to 
 the island just above Dubuque. You must have 
 seen them there, didn t you ?" 
 
 " No, sir," replied Winn, to whom this question 
 was addressed. " I only saw one man on the 
 island. He said he was a river-trader, and would 
 help me float the raft. We went to look for his 
 partners, and when I came back, it and he were 
 both gone. After that I did not see a soul until 
 you oame along and arrested me." 
 
172 Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 "That confirms my belief that they have ap 
 propriated your raft to their own uses," said the 
 Sheriff ; " and it is a mighty good scheme on their 
 part, too. We were watching all the steamboats, 
 and even the trading scows, but never thought of 
 finding them on a raft. They have probably dis 
 guised it, and themselves too, long before this, so 
 that to trail them will be very difficult. I sup^ 
 pose you will try to follow them, though ?" 
 
 " Certainly I shall," answered Billy Brackett, 
 promptly. "I haven t undertaken this job only 
 to give it up after a week s trial. As for Winn, 
 though, I don t know but what I really ought to 
 send him home." 
 
 " Now look here, Uncle Billy. You know you 
 don t mean that. You know that, much as I want 
 to see mother and Elta, I simply must find that 
 raft, or, at any rate, help you do it. You couldn t 
 send me home, either, unless you borrowed a pair of 
 handcuffs from the Sheriff and put me in irons. 
 Anyway, I don t believe you d have the heart. If 
 I thought for a moment that you had, I d well, 
 I d disappear again, that s all." 
 
 "All right," laughed Billy Brackett. "I m will 
 ing you should go with us if Bim is. What do 
 you say, old dog \ Speak, sir !" 
 
 And Bim spoke till the echoes rang again. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A "MEWBL" NAMED "REWARD." 
 
 IT being thus settled that the search for the 
 raft was to be continued, the Sheriff said : " I 
 wish I could go with you, Mr. Brackett, and see 
 this affair through ; but those fellows are beyond 
 my hunting-ground now, and I ve got important 
 business to attend to up the river. I ll tell you 
 what I will do, though. I ll appoint you a deputy, 
 and give you a bit of writing witnessed by a no 
 tary, as well as a badge. The paper will identify 
 you, and state that you are engaged on government 
 business, which entitles you to official aid wher 
 ever you may demand it. I will also give you 
 samples of the bills those fellows are circulating. 
 They are fives and tens, and by far the best speci 
 mens of that kind of work I have ever seen. Of 
 course, if you don t catch them it will be all right ; 
 but if you do, perhaps you ll remember old friends 
 when the reward is paid." 
 
 Billy Brackett thanked Mr. Riley, and accepted 
 these friendly offers, though he afterwards re 
 marked to Winn that as they were searching for 
 
Ill It. Raftmates : 
 
 a lost raft, and not for a gang of counterfeiters, 
 he thought it unlikely that he should ever play 
 the part of Sheriff. 
 
 "But you d try for that reward if you had the 
 chance, wouldn t you ?" asked Winn. 
 
 " No, I would not," was the prompt reply. 
 "Man -hunting, and especially man -hunting for 
 money, is not in my line. It is a duty that Sher 
 iffs are obliged to perform, but, thank goodness, 
 I am not a Sheriff." 
 
 At the conclusion of all these explanations and 
 arrangements, the entire party adjourned to the 
 Whatnot, to which Sabella had already returned, 
 and where they were to dine, by Cap n Cod s in 
 vitation. 
 
 "What a good dinner it was, and what a merry 
 one ! How Solon, who in a speckless white apron 
 waited at table, grinned at the praises bestowed 
 upon his cooking ! How they all chaffed each other ! 
 "Winn was ironically praised for his success in 
 losing rafts, and the Sheriff for his in capturing 
 counterfeiters ; Cap n Cod was gravely congratu 
 lated upon the result of his efforts to entertain the 
 public, and even Sabella was highly praised for 
 her skilful performance on the hand-organ. With 
 all this banter, Cap n Cod did not lose sight of the 
 obligation under which Billy Brackett had placed 
 him the evening before, and so sincerely regretted 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 176 
 
 that he and Winn were not to continue their voy 
 age down the river on the Whatnot, that the 
 former finally said : 
 
 " Well, sir, if you really want us to, I don t see 
 why we shouldn t travel with you until we over 
 haul our raft. I am rather taken with this show 
 business myself, and have always had a desire to 
 appear on the stage. As for Winn, and that other 
 young monkey, Don Blossom " 
 
 " All right," laughed Winn. " I d rather take 
 the part of monkey than of mule, any day." 
 
 " Other young monkey," continued Billy Brack- 
 ett, gravely, without noticing this interruption, 
 " we ll hitch them together and exhibit them 
 as Siamese twins. Oh, I tell you, gentlemen, 
 we ll give a show such as never was seen on this 
 little old river. I don t suppose this craft is as fast 
 as some of the larger steamboats, but she can cer 
 tainly overtake a raft, and we might just as well 
 have some fun out of the trip as not." 
 
 " But she is not a steamboat," confessed Cap n 
 Cod. 
 
 "Not a steamboat ! What is she then, and how 
 do you propel her ?" 
 
 " She is only a mule-boat, and at present, as we 
 have no mule, we merely drift with the current." 
 
 At this Billy Brackett became thoughtful, and 
 asked to be shown into the engine-room. He had 
 
176 Raftmates: 
 
 not appreciated Winn s reference to acting the 
 part of a mule until now ; but at sight of the 
 treadmill, and a sudden realization of the part his 
 nephew had taken in the performance of the pre 
 ceding evening, he laughed until the tears filled 
 his eyes, and the others laughed in sympathy. 
 
 " Oh, Winn, Winn !" he cried. " You ll be the 
 death of me yet ! 1 wonder if ever an uncle was 
 blessed with such an absurd nephew before ?" 
 
 That s all right, Uncle Billy," said Winn; 
 " but you just step in and work that treadmill for 
 an hour. Then see if you ll laugh. Eh, Solon ?" 
 
 "No, sah. Ole Solom he don git in dere no 
 mo . He gwine strike, he am, agin dish yer 
 mewel bizness." 
 
 " Look here, Winn," said Billy Brackett, when 
 he had recovered his gravity, " didn t I offer a 
 reward for your discovery ?" 
 
 " To be sure you did ; and I meant to claim it, 
 too. That s what I got the printer to point out 
 Mr. Brickell for. So I ll take it now, if you 
 please." 
 
 " That is one of the rewards I expected to earn," 
 remarked Cap n Cod. " And I wrote to your father 
 for full particulars concerning your disappearance ; 
 but I don t suppose there is any chance for me 
 now, so long as you have discovered yourself, unless 
 you could make it convenient to get lost again." 
 
A Story of the Great River. 177 
 
 " I was rather expecting to come in for that re 
 ward myself," said the Sheriff. 
 
 " While I," said Billy Brackett, " had about con 
 cluded that if any one was entitled to it, it was the 
 young rascal s worthy uncle. But I ll tell you how 
 we will settle these several claims. Solon here is 
 almost the only one who has not applied for the 
 reward, though I am convinced that he is as well 
 entitled to it as any of us. Therefore I am going 
 to pay it to him 
 
 At this the old negro s eyes grew wide as sau 
 cers. He had never been possessed of a hundred 
 dollars in his life. 
 
 " On condition," continued the young engineer, 
 "that he immediately invests it in a mule, which 
 he shall offer to our friend Cap n Cod as a substi 
 tute for himself and Winn in the treadmill. I 
 shall receive my reward by being permitted to 
 travel on the Whatnot and study for the stage, 
 while the Sheriff shall be rewarded by being al 
 lowed to name the mule." 
 
 Although they all laughed at this scheme and 
 considered it a good joke, Billy Brackett was deeply 
 in earnest beneath all his assumed frivolity. He 
 realized that finding the raft and taking possession 
 of it were no longer one and the same thing. The 
 fact that it was in the hands of a gang of men who 
 were at once shrewd and desperate rendered its 
 
178 Raftmates: 
 
 recovery an affair requiring all the discretion and 
 skill that he could command. For the purpose in 
 view, a boat like the Whatnot, with which he could 
 stop when and where he pleased, as well as visit 
 places unattainable by larger craft, was much bet 
 ter suited than a steamboat that would only touch 
 at certain fixed points. Then again he and Winn 
 would be less likely to arouse the suspicion of those 
 whom they sought if attached to Cap n Cod s 
 show than if they appeared to have no definite 
 business or object in view. He calculated that by 
 using mule -power in the daytime and drifting 
 with the current at night the Whatnot could be 
 made to reach St. Louis as soon as the raft, and 
 still allow time for several exhibitions of the pan 
 orama on the way. From the outset he had ex 
 pected to take the raft at least as far as St. Louis, 
 and now was perfectly willing that its present crew 
 should have the labor of navigating it to that point. 
 Thus the plan of travelling by the Whatnot com 
 mended itself strongly to his judgment, besides 
 proving highly satisfactory to all those interested 
 in it. 
 
 Even Birn approved of it, for in addition to show 
 ing a decided appreciation of Sabella s friendship, 
 this intelligent animal evinced a desire to become 
 more intimately acquainted with Don Blossom, who 
 was the first of his race he had ever encountered. 
 
A Story of the Great fiiver. 179 
 
 The mule selected by Solon, and guaranteed by 
 that expert in mules to be " a tumble wukker, kase 
 I sees hit in he eye," was purchased that very 
 afternoon, and immediately introduced to the scene 
 of his future labors. 
 
 Sheriff Riley named him " Reward." Then bid 
 ding these strangely found friends good-bye, and 
 taking his recovered property with him, he boarded 
 an up-bound steamboat and started for home. 
 
 As there was no reason why the others should 
 not also begin their journey at once, the Whatnot 
 was got under way at the same time, and headed 
 down the stream. 
 
 Cap n Cod proudly occupied the pilot-house; 
 Solon attended to the four-legged engine ; Sabella 
 was making preparations for supper; while the two 
 who would be raftmates, provided they only had 
 a raft, paced slowly back and forth on the upper 
 deck, enjoying the scenery and discussing their 
 plans. 
 
 " If we only knew how those fellows had dis 
 guised the raft, and what she looked like now!" 
 remarked Billy Brackett. 
 
 " I m certain that I should recognize it under 
 any disguise," asserted Winn, positively. 
 
 " That may be, but it would simplify matters if 
 we could have some definite description of the 
 craft. Now we shall have to board every raft we 
 
180 Baftmates : A Story of the Great Ewer. 
 
 overhaul, on some pretence or other, and make in 
 quiries. And that reminds me that the Whatnot 
 does not seem to be provided with a skiff." 
 
 "Yes, Solon said there was one on this deck, 
 covered with canvas. That must be it there," re 
 plied Winn. As he spoke he lifted an edge of the 
 bit of old sail that protected some bulky object 
 from the weather, and looked beneath it. Then he 
 uttered a cry of amazement, and tore the canvas 
 completely off. 
 
 " It s my canoe, as sure as I m standing here !" 
 he shouted. " The very one that was carried off on 
 the raft!" 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 REWARD RUNS AWAY WITH THE PANORAMA. 
 
 THERE was not the slightest doubt that the 
 canoe, covered by a bit of canvas, which had rested 
 all this time on the upper deck of the Whatnot^ 
 was the very one whose loss had grieved Wirin 
 almost as much as that of the raft itself. If he 
 had needed proof other than his certain knowl 
 edge of the little craft, it was at hand ; for, as he 
 pointed out to Billy Brackett, there were his ini 
 tials, rudely cut with a jack-knife, just inside the 
 gunwale. How well he remembered carving them, 
 one sunny afternoon, when he and Elta were drift 
 ing down the creek! Yes, indeed, it was his canoe 
 fast enough, but how came it there? There was 
 but one way to obtain an answer, and in another 
 minute Cap n Cod was being plied with eager 
 questions as to when, where, and how he came 
 into possession of the dugout. 
 
 "That canoe?" he questioned slowly, looking 
 from one to the other, and wondering at their 
 eagerness. "Why, I bought it off a raft just 
 before leaving Dubuque. You see, I didn t have 
 
182 Haftmates : 
 
 any skiff, and didn t feel that I could afford to buy 
 one. So I was calculating to build one after we d 
 got started. Then a raft came along, and the fel 
 lows on it must have been awfully hard up, for 
 they offered to sell their canoe so cheap that I 
 just had to take it. Two dollars was all I gave 
 for it ; and though it isn t exactly " 
 
 " But what sort of a raft was it ?" anxiously in 
 terrupted Winn. 
 
 " Just an ordinary timber raft with a shanty 
 and a tent on it, and " 
 
 " You mean three shanties, don t you ?" 
 
 " No ; one shanty and a tent. I took particu 
 lar notice, because as there were only three men 
 aboard, I wondered why the shanty, which looked 
 to be real roomy, wasn t enough." 
 
 " Three men !" exclaimed Billy Brackett " a 
 big man, a middle-sized man, and a little man, like 
 the bears in the story-book. Why Winn, that s 
 our raft, and I ve been aboard it twice within the 
 last four days." 
 
 "You have! Where? How? Why didn t 
 you tell me ? Where is it now ?" 
 
 " Oh, I have been aboard it here and there. 
 Didn t mention it because I haven t been ac 
 quainted with you long enough to post you in 
 every detail of my previous history, and now that 
 raft is somewhere down the river, between here 
 
A Story of the Great River. 183 
 
 and St. Louis." Then changing his bantering tone, 
 the young engineer gave a full explanation of how 
 he happened to board the Venture twice, and when 
 he finished, Winn said, 
 
 " But you haven t mentioned the wheat. Didn t 
 you notice it ?" 
 
 " Wheat ! Oh yes. I do remember your father 
 saying he had put some wheat aboard as a specula 
 tion ; but I didn t see anything of any wheat, nor 
 was there any place where it could have been con 
 cealed." 
 
 " Then they must have thrown it overboard, as 
 I was afraid they had, and there was a thousand 
 dollars worth of it, too." 
 
 "Whew! Was there as much as that?" said 
 Billy Brackett, thoughtfully. "So those rascals 
 first stole it, and then threw it away, and now 
 there is a thousand dollars reward offered for infor 
 mation that will lead to their capture. I declare, 
 Winn, circumstances do sometimes alter cases." 
 
 " Indeed they do, and I think we ought to ac 
 cept that reward, for father s sake. I know I feel 
 as if I owed him at least a thousand dollars." 
 
 " Did you ever cook a rabbit before you caught 
 it, Winn " 
 
 " Of course not. How absurd ! Oh, I see what 
 you mean, but I don t think it s the same thing 
 at all We can t help finding the raft, new that 
 
184 Raftmates: 
 
 we know where it is, and just what it looks 
 like." 
 
 Billy Brackett only laughed at this, and then, 
 in obedience to Sabella s call, they went down to 
 supper. The engine was stopped that it also 
 might be fed, and for an hour the Whatnot was 
 allowed to drift with only Solon on deck. Then 
 Reward was again set to work, and until ten 
 o clock the unique craft spun merrily down-stream. 
 From that hour the engine was allowed to rest 
 until morning ; and while they drifted, the crew 
 divided the watches of the night between them, 
 Cap n Cod and Winn taking one, and Billy Brack 
 ett with Solon for company the other. 
 
 At midnight Sabella had a lunch ready for the 
 watch just coming below, as well as for the one 
 about to turn out ; and then, wrapped warmly in 
 a blanket, she sat for an hour on the upper deck 
 with Cap n Cod and Winn, fascinated by the nov 
 elty of drifting down the great river at night. 
 The lights that twinkled here and there along the 
 shores earlier in the evening had disappeared, and 
 the whole world seemed asleep. The brooding 
 stillness was only broken by the distant hooting 
 of owls, or the musical complainings of the swift 
 waters as they chafed impatiently against some 
 snag, reef, or bar. 
 
 They talked in hushed voices, and Sabella re- 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 186 
 
 lated how the man from whom her uncle pur 
 chased Winn s canoe had told her that she re 
 minded him of his own little daughter, who lived 
 so far away that she didn t even know where her 
 father was. " He loves her dearly, though," added 
 Sabella. " I know from the way he talked about 
 her; but I can t think what he meant when he 
 said I ought to be very grateful because I didn t 
 have any father, and that it would be much better 
 for his little girl if she hadn t one either." 
 
 " I suppose he meant because he is such a bad 
 man, suggested Winn. 
 
 " I don t believe he is a bad man," protested 
 Sabella. " If he was, he just couldn t talk the 
 way he did." 
 
 " But he stole our raft, and he is a counterfeiter, 
 and there s a reward offered for him." 
 
 " How do you know ? Only yesterday some 
 people thought you had stolen a boat, and were a 
 counterfeiter, and there were two rewards offered 
 for you," laughed Sabella. " So perhaps this man 
 isn t any worse than you were. Anyhow, I m 
 going to like him for his little girl s sake, until I 
 find out that he is really a bad man." 
 
 "I wonder if it could have been Mr. Gilder?" 
 thought Winn, as he remembered how that gentle 
 man had won his confidence. Then he entertained 
 Cap n Cod and Sabella by relating the incident of 
 
186 Eaftmates: 
 
 his warm reception to the first and only one of the 
 " river-traders " whom he had met. 
 
 By noon of the next day they reached the point 
 at which Billy Brackett had last seen the raft, and 
 they knew that here their search for it must begin 
 in earnest. For five days more they swept on 
 down the mighty river at the rate of nearly a 
 hundred miles a day. They no longer ran at 
 night, for fear of passing the raft in the darkness, 
 but from sunrise to sunset they hurried southward 
 with all possible speed. They made inquiries at 
 every town and ferry landing; they scanned criti 
 cally every raft they passed, and boarded several 
 that appeared to be about the size of the Venture, 
 though none of them showed a tent in addition to 
 its "shanty." During every minute of daylight 
 either Billy Brackett or Winn watched the river 
 from the upper deck, but at the end of five days 
 they had not discovered the slightest trace of the 
 missing raft. 
 
 Cap n Cod became so interested in the chase 
 that he would willingly have kept it up by night 
 as well as by day, without stopping to give exhibi 
 tions anywhere ; but this Billy Brackett would not 
 allow. 
 
 " We are certainly travelling faster than they," 
 he argued, " even if they are not making any 
 stops, which is improbable, considering the nature 
 
A Story of the Great River. 187 
 
 of their business. So we must overtake them 
 sooner or later, and we can t afford the risk of 
 missing them by running at night. Besides, this 
 is a show-boat, and not a police patrol boat. Its 
 reputation must be sustained, and though we don t 
 take time enough at any one place to advertise, 
 and so attract a crowd, we can at least pay ex 
 penses." 
 
 So the panorama was exhibited every evening, 
 and Billy Brackett, acting as lecturer, pointed out 
 the beauties of the li composite " paintings, in his 
 own witty, happy-go-lucky way, to such audiences 
 as could be collected. 
 
 At one of these exhibitions, given at Alton, only 
 twenty miles from St. Louis, and just above the 
 point where the clear waters of the Mississippi 
 disappear in the turbid flood of the greater Mis 
 souri, an incident occurred that, while only re 
 garded as amusing at the time, was productive of 
 most important results to our friends. At Billy 
 Brackett s suggestion, Don Blossom, dressed to 
 represent the lecturer, had been trained to slip 
 slyly on the stage after the panorama was well 
 under way. Provided with a bit of stick, he would 
 walk behind the lecturer, and gravely point at the 
 picture in exact imitation of the other s move 
 ments. For a minute or so Billy Brackett would 
 continue his remarks as though nothing unusual 
 
188 Raftmates . 
 
 were happening. At length, when he had allowed 
 sufficient time to elapse for an audience to fully 
 appreciate the situation, he would turn as though 
 to learn the cause of their uproarious mirth, dis 
 cover the monkey, and chase him from the stage 
 with every sign of anger. 
 
 In rehearsal, this act had been done to perfec 
 tion; but the first time Don Blossom heard the 
 storm of cheers, yells, and laughter, with which 
 his appearance was greeted by a genuine river au 
 dience, he became so terrified, that without wait 
 ing to be driven from the stage he fled from it. 
 Darting behind the scenes and on through the 
 living-room, he finally took refuge in the darkest 
 corner of the engine-room, where Reward was 
 drowsily working his treadmill. The monkey 
 was so frightened that a moment later, when Sa- 
 bella went to find him, he sprang away from her, 
 and with a prodigious leap landed squarely on 
 Reward s head, where, chattering and screaming, 
 he clung desperately to the long ears. 
 
 The next instant a frantic mule was performing 
 the almost impossible feat of running away on a 
 treadmill. At the same time, to Billy Bracket t s 
 dismay and to the astonishment of his audience, 
 the several pictures of the panorama were flitting 
 by in a bewildering stream of color, the effect of 
 which was kaleidoscopic and amazing. 
 
A Story of the Great JSiver. 189 
 
 This was Don Blossom s first and last appear 
 ance on the stage in public, for he was so thoroughly 
 frightened that, after being rescued from his un 
 happy position, nothing could induce him to enter 
 either the exhibition hall or the engine-room again. 
 An hour later he managed to evade the watchful 
 ness of his young mistress, slip from the boat, and 
 scamper away through the darkness. His absence 
 was not discovered until the next morning, and at 
 first it was supposed that he was in hiding some 
 where on board. When a thorough search failed 
 to produce the little rascal, all except Sabella 
 declared he would never be found, and they must 
 proceed down the river without him. Against this 
 decision the little girl, who had become deeply at 
 tached to her pet, protested so earnestly that Cap n 
 Cod finally agreed to devote an hour to searching 
 the town and making inquiries for the lost mon 
 key. In order to make the search as thorough as 
 possible, he, Billy Brackett, Winn, and Solon went 
 ashore and started in different directions, leaving 
 Sabella alone on the Whatnot. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 WINN DISCOVERS HIS LONG-LOST RAPT. 
 
 THE morning was gray and chill. The low- 
 hanging clouds were charged with moisture, and 
 a thick fog hung above the river. Sabella was so 
 filled with anxiety concerning the fate of Don 
 Blossom that she was unable to settle down to 
 any of the light domestic duties with which she 
 generally occupied her mornings. She wandered 
 restlessly from door to window, with the vague 
 hope that her missing pet might be somewhere in 
 sight. If the weather had not been so unpleasant, 
 she would have started out on a private search for 
 him in the immediate vicinity of the landing. All 
 at once, as she was gazing from the window of her 
 own little room on the upper deck at the dreary- 
 looking houses of the river-front, and as far as she 
 could see up the one muddy street that came 
 within her range of vision, she heard shouting 
 and laughter, and saw a group of persons approach 
 ing the boat. 
 
 For a few minutes she could not make out who 
 they were, or what they were doing. Then she 
 
JRaftmates: A Story of ike Great Ri/ver. 191 
 
 saw that the one taller than the others was a man, 
 and that he was surrounded by a group of boys. 
 Several of them ran backward in front of him, and 
 all of them seemed greatly excited over something 
 that he bore in his arms. It was a red bundle that 
 squirmed and struggled as though it was alive. 
 Sabella looked for a moment longer, then she 
 darted down the short fight of steps leading to the 
 living-room, and flung open the outer door. 
 
 " It s Don Blossom ! It s my own dear, sweet 
 Don Blossom !" she cried, almost snatching the 
 trembling little animal from the man s arms in 
 her eagerness. 
 
 The man stepped inside, and closed the door to 
 ehut out the boys, who, after lingering a few min 
 utes, gradually dispersed. 
 
 " Oh, you dear monkey ! How could you run 
 away ? You naughty, naughty Don Blossom ! 
 Was he cold and wet and hungry and fright 
 ened ? But he s safe now, and he shall have his 
 breakfast directly ; so he shall, the dear blessed !" 
 
 While Sabella was so much engrossed with her 
 pet as to be unmindful of all else, the man who 
 had restored him to her stood just within the 
 doorway and watched her, with an amused smile. 
 
 " So he is your monkey, is he ? I thought he 
 must be when I first saw him," he said at length. 
 
 " Yes, indeed, he is ; and I have been feeling so 
 
192 Raftmate* : 
 
 badly at losing him. But where did you find 
 him, and how did you know he was mine ?" Here 
 the little girl looked for the first time into the 
 stranger s face. "Why, you are the very same 
 one" 
 
 " Yes," he replied, quietly, " I am the very same 
 one whom you reminded of his own little girl, and 
 who has thought of you very often since. I didn t 
 know that you had reached this place, or I should 
 have come to see you before. I found this monkey 
 a little while ago in possession of some boys who 
 were teasing him, and thought I recognized him 
 as soon as I saw him. I became certain he was 
 yours when some of the boys said they had seen 
 him on a show-boat last evening, and that, after 
 they had had some fun with him, they were going 
 to bring him down here and claim a reward. As 
 I wanted the pleasure of bringing him back to you 
 myself, I bought him of them, and here he is." 
 
 " Then you are not a bad man, as Winn said, 
 but a very good one, as I told him, and now I can 
 prove it !" exclaimed Sabella, with a note of joyous 
 triumph in her voice. " I m ever and ever so 
 much obliged to you, and I only wish I could see 
 your little girl to tell her what a splendid father 
 she has." 
 
 " Who is Winn ? And what makes him think 
 I arn a bad man ?" inquired the stranger, curiously. 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 193 
 
 " Oh, he s a boy, a big boy, that has lost a raft 
 that we are helping him find, and he thinks you 
 stole it. So he says you are a bad man ; but I know 
 you are not, and you wouldn t do such a mean thing 
 as to steal a boy s raft, would you ?" 
 
 " Well, no," hesitated the stranger, greatly taken 
 aback by this unexpected disclosure and abrupt 
 question. "No, of course not," he added, recov 
 ering himself. " I wouldn t steal a raft, or any 
 thing else, from a boy, though I might occasion 
 ally borrow a thing that I needed very much. But 
 where is this Winn boy now ? And where is your 
 uncle?" 
 
 " They have gone out to find Don Blossom, and 
 Mr. Brackett and Solon have gone too, but they ll 
 all be back directly, and then you can tell them 
 that you only borrowed Winn s raft, and where 
 you have left it. Oh, I am so glad it was you that 
 found Don Blossom !" 
 
 " Who is Mr. Brackett ?" inquired the stranger, 
 glancing uneasily out of the window. 
 
 " Mr. Brackett 3 Why, he is Winn s uncle, 
 though you wouldn t think he was an uncle, or 
 any older than Winn, he is so funny, and he is 
 helping find the raft. But you ll see him in a few 
 minutes, for they said they d only be gone an 
 hour." 
 
 " I think I ll go and find them, and tell them 
 
194 Eaftmates : 
 
 they needn t hunt any longer for the monkey," 
 said the stranger, hurriedly. 
 
 Then, before Sabella could remonstrate, he had 
 bent down and kissed her, saying, " Good-bye, and 
 God bless you, little one," opened the door, and 
 was gone. 
 
 u Seems to me that is very foolish, when he 
 might have seen them by just waiting a few min 
 utes," said Sabella to herself, as she pulled off Don 
 Blossom s gay but soaked and mud - bespattered 
 coat. " Now perhaps he will miss them after 
 all." 
 
 The stranger had hardly disappeared before 
 Solon returned to the boat, grumbling at the weath 
 er, the mud, and, above all, at the rheumatism that 
 forbade him to remain out in the wet any longer. 
 
 " Hit hain t no use, honey," he said, as he 
 opened the door, "dat ar Don monkey gone fur 
 good an all dish yer time. Yo nebber see him 
 no mo. Wha wha whar yo fin him? He 
 ben yeah all de time, while ole Solon ben er traip- 
 sin fro de mud, an er huntin , an er huntin ?" 
 
 " No, indeed, he hasn t !" cried Sabella, laughing 
 merrily, as she held Don Blossom up to the aston 
 ished gaze of the old negro. " He has just come 
 home." Then she explained at length how her 
 pet had been brought back to her by such a good 
 kind man. 
 
A Story of the Great Rww. 195 
 
 "Well, ef dat ar ain t a beater!" ejaculated 
 Solon. " I s mighty glad de lil rasc l is foun , any 
 way, kase now we kin be gittin outen dish yer 
 rheumatizy place. I ll go an hitch up dat mewel, 
 so to hab him ready to start when de Cap n come. 1 
 
 Upon leaving the Whatnot, Cap n Cod had 
 turned to the left, or up along the river-front of 
 the town ; Billy Bracket t had plunged directly 
 into its business portion, intending to keep ou 
 until he reached the hills beyond, on which stood 
 the better class of residences ; and Winn had turned 
 to the right. 
 
 The young engineer, closely followed by Bim, 
 walked for several blocks without seeing or hear 
 ing anything of the runaway monkey. Suddenly, 
 with a low growl, Bim started across the street. 
 His master was just in time to see a man spring 
 into the open doorway of a store, and slam the 
 door to as the dog leaped furiously against it. 
 
 The glimpse he caught of the man s face was 
 like a lightning flash, but it was enough. He 
 knew him to be the raftsman who had kicked 
 Bim, and whom he had rescued from the dog s 
 teeth at Mandrake, more than a week before. 
 "He is one of those scoundrels who stole the 
 Venture, and if I can only trace him I ll find 
 the raft," thought the young man, as he dashed 
 across the street after Bim. 
 
196 Raftmates: 
 
 Seizing the dog s collar, and bidding him be 
 quiet, he opened the door of the store and stepped 
 inside. There was no one to be seen, save the 
 proprietor and two or three startled-looking clerks. 
 
 "Where is he?" demanded Billy Brackett, hur 
 riedly. " The man, I mean, who ran in here just 
 now!" 
 
 " That dog ought to be killed, and if you don t 
 take him out of here at once I ll call the police," 
 said the proprietor of the store, indignantly. " It s 
 an outrage to allow such brutes to run at large." 
 
 " That s the reason I m holding him," said Billy 
 Brackett ; " but where is the man ?" 
 
 " I don t know; but I hope he has gone for hie 
 gun, and will know how to use it too. If he 
 don t, I" 
 
 The young engineer did not wait to hear more, 
 for at that moment he spied a back door standing 
 partly open. That was where his man had gone, 
 and without paying any further attention to the 
 irate shopkeeper, he dashed out through it with 
 Bim at his heels. 
 
 Winn searched high and low, with the utmost 
 faithfulness, until he reached the outskirts of the 
 town, but without finding a trace of the missing 
 Don Blossom. There was a growth of timber 
 lining the river-bank, just beyond the houses, and 
 the boy ventured a little way into this, arguing 
 
A Story of the Great River. 197 
 
 that a monkey would naturally take to trees. It 
 was so wet and dripping in the timber that he 
 only remained there a few minutes ; but as he 
 turned to retrace his steps, his attention was di 
 verted by a new object of interest. 
 
 He was on a bank of the river, beside which 
 was moored a raft. It was a timber raft, with a 
 single large " shanty," that had a strangely familiar 
 look, standing amidship. 
 
 " It isn t the Venture, of course," thought "Winn ; 
 "but I ll just step aboard and inquire if they 
 have seen anything of a raft with a "shanty" and a 
 tent on it. It will save us some time when we 
 get started down the river again." 
 
 So thinking, the boy stepped lightly aboard. 
 His footfalls were deadened by the wet, so that 
 he gained the forward end of the " shanty " with 
 out attracting attention. The door was closed, 
 and Winn was startled to note how very familiar 
 that gable end of the building looked. He raised 
 his hand to knock at the door, when suddenly it 
 was flung open, and a harsh voice asked, "What 
 do you want \ and what are you doing here, young 
 man?" 
 
 As Winn was about to reply his glance pene 
 trated the interior of the "shanty," and for an 
 instant he stood speechless. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE RAFT AND THE SHOW-BOAT CHANGE CREWS. 
 
 IT must be remembered that while Winn would 
 have recognized Mr. Gilder, he had not seen the 
 other " river-traders," Plater and Grimshaw. Of 
 these two, the former had not set eyes on the lad 
 whose raft they had stolen ; but the latter had 
 caught a glimpse of him, and now, as he noted 
 Winn s startled glance into the interior of the 
 " shanty," it flashed into his mind who this intru 
 sive boy was. 
 
 The "river-traders" had not really expected 
 Winn to follow them. They imagined that after 
 he escaped from the island, which they hoped he 
 would not do for several days, he would be glad 
 enough to make the best of his way home. Still, 
 they had taken the precaution of disguising the 
 Venture by throwing the wheat overboard, tear 
 ing down the buildings in which it had been 
 stowed, and erecting a tent in place of one of 
 them. As they were well provided with various 
 changes of wigs and beards, they felt quite safe 
 until Billy Brackett boarded the raft for the second 
 
JRaftmates : A Stot^y of the Great River. 199 
 
 time, and made inquiries for one having three 
 " shanties." Then they realized that a search was 
 being made for them, or, at least, for the craft 
 from which they were operating. 
 
 They felt somewhat easier when one of their 
 number, detailed to watch the movements of their 
 unwelcome visitor, returned and reported that he 
 had gone back up the river. Still, they thought it 
 well to again alter the appearance of the raft by 
 removing the tent, and so lengthening the " shanty " 
 as to materially change its aspect. They also al 
 lowed the raft to drift night and day for nearly 
 five hundred miles without a pause. Then, again 
 feeling safe from pursuit, they tied up just below 
 the City of Alton, Illinois, and prepared to resume 
 their dishonest business. 
 
 Their plan of operations was to purchase goods 
 wherever they stopped, but always in such small 
 quantities that for the bills they tendered in pay 
 ment they received a certain amount of good 
 money in change. A little farther along they 
 would offer the goods thus accumulated for sale 
 so cheaply that they readily disposed of them. In 
 this way they not only did a thriving business, but 
 kept up the appearance of being what they claimed 
 to be " river-traders " and raftsmen. 
 
 In this wicked scheme of cheating and stealing, 
 Plater and Grimshaw felt no scruples nor regrets ; 
 
900 Kaftmates : 
 
 but with Mr. Gilder, especially after his meeting 
 with Sabella, the case was different. He was 
 a man of gentlemanly instincts, and was a skil 
 ful engraver, who had worked in the Govern 
 ment Printing-office at Washington for several 
 years. There he was extravagant, got into debt, 
 yielded to the temptation to make a fortune easily, 
 and became a counterfeiter. The present under 
 taking was his first experience in that line of 
 wickedness, and he was already heartily sick of it. 
 While on the island, where his part of the work 
 was engraving and printing, he had not realized 
 the contemptible nature of his unlawful business. 
 He had merely been filled with pride in his own 
 skill, which feeling his associates took good care 
 to encourage by artful praise. 
 
 When he met Sabella, it flashed across him for 
 the first time that his own little girl, far away in 
 an eastern city, was the daughter of a criminal, 
 and from that moment he was a changed man. 
 Through the long days and longer nights, as the 
 raft drifted down the great river, these thoughts 
 were ever with him : " What will she say when 
 she finds it out? How will she act? Will she 
 ever kiss me, or even speak to me again ? I have 
 made her very name a disgrace. What shall I do 
 to wipe it out? What shall I do?" 
 
 His companions noticed his strange mood, and 
 
A /Story of the Great River. 201 
 
 jeered at him, but failed to change it. Finally 
 they became suspicious, and held secret consulta 
 tions as to how they should rid themselves of him. 
 They finally determined to accomplish this in 
 some way at St. Louis, and so matters stood when 
 they made their stop at Alton. Here they in 
 tended remaining until they had transacted a satis 
 factory amount of business. Thus, on the foggy 
 morning following Don Blossom s escape from the 
 Whatnot, Messrs Gilder and Plater had gone into 
 the town to familiarize themselves with its locali 
 ties, while Grimshaw was left to look out for the 
 raft. Now Winn Caspar had accidentally discov 
 ered it, and recognized it as the Venture. 
 
 He did not know the man standing in the door 
 way and looking so curiously at him, nor did he 
 suppose himself known by the other. So, with a 
 great effort, he strove to conceal the tumult of his 
 feelings, and to appear natural and self-possessed. 
 He answered the man s curt inquiry regarding his 
 business there by saying, in as pleasant a tone as 
 he could command, that he was searching for a 
 lost monkey, which he thought might have taken 
 to the timber beside which this raft was moored. 
 " You startled me by throwing open your door so 
 suddenly just as I was about to knock," he con 
 tinued ; " but you haven t seen anything of a stray 
 monkey this morning, have you ?" 
 
802 Raftmates: 
 
 " Not until this moment," answered the man, 
 surlily, " and I don t want to see any more of him. 
 Good-day." 
 
 With this he slammed the door in the boy s 
 face, and then, stealing on tiptoe to a window, 
 watched for his departure from the raft. 
 
 To say that Mr. Grimshaw was rendered uneasy 
 and apprehensive by this sudden appearance of 
 one whom he supposed to be hundreds of miles 
 away, and who was also the very person he was 
 most anxious to avoid, would by no means express 
 his feelings. He was so terrified and unnerved 
 that for a moment he thought of leaving the raft 
 to its fate, and making good his own escape while 
 he had time. Then he wondered if it would not 
 be better to cast it loose and drift away through 
 the fog to some new hiding-place. It would never 
 do to go without his partners, though ; for, in the 
 first place, he could not manage the raft alone, and 
 in the second there was no knowing what Gilder 
 would do if he thought himself deserted and per 
 haps betrayed. No, he must find his associates 
 without delay, and warn them of this unexpected 
 danger. He wondered if the boy were alone. Per 
 haps he had friends in hiding near by, to whom he 
 had gone to report. In that case his own safety 
 demanded that he discover them before they 
 reached the raft. The boy had already disappeared 
 
A Story of the Great River. 203 
 
 in the timber, and there was no time to be lost in 
 following him. 
 
 Thus reasoning, Grimshaw left the "shanty," 
 locking its door behind him as he did so, and 
 springing ashore, hastened up the trail, along which 
 Winn had disappeared a few seconds before. It 
 took him about three minutes to reach the fat 
 edge of the timber and outskirts of the town, 
 Here several streets began, and as he could not 
 follow them all, he was brought to a halt. Which 
 way should he go now ? He had seen nothing of 
 the boy, whom he certainly ought to have over 
 taken before this, nor of any other person. Could 
 he have passed them ? Where should he look for 
 Gilder and Plater ? Would it not be better, after 
 all, to await their return on the raft ? Of course it 
 would. He had been a fool to leave it, and now 
 his best plan was to get back to it as quickly as 
 possible. 
 
 These thoughts occupied less than a minute, 
 and so impatient was the man to regain the raft 
 he had just left that inside of two minutes more 
 he again stood on the river-bank. He had been 
 gone barely five minutes, and in that time he had 
 not seen a human being. Now he could not see 
 the raft. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. 
 He could see a few rods of water, but beyond that 
 the fog was impenetrable. He shouted, but there 
 
804 Raftmates : 
 
 was no answer. Perhaps this was not the place. 
 He ran a little way up the shore, and then as 
 far in the opposite direction, but without success. 
 Then he returned to his starting-point, and found 
 the end of a rope. It was attached to a tree, and 
 had been cut. It was a bit of the line that had 
 held the raft, and the raft was gone. 
 
 The blow was a heavy one, and for a few min 
 utes Grimshaw stood like one who is stunned. 
 The loss of that raft, under the circumstances, 
 meant ruin. It meant the loss of everything he 
 had or cared for in the world. At first the reali 
 zation of this loss rendered him speechless. Then 
 he began to rave and revile his own carelessness. 
 After a few minutes devoted to this he again 
 started up the trail. He was determined to pro 
 cure some craft and start in instant pursuit of the 
 raft. He would go in company with his partners 
 if he ran across them, but alone if he did not. 
 Before he reached the far edge of the timber he 
 met Plater running and breathless. 
 
 "Get back to the raft!" shouted the new 
 comer. " They re after us !" 
 
 " They ve got us," was the bitter answer. " At 
 least they ve got the raft, and we must hunt some 
 boat in which to follow them at once." 
 
 A few words more explained the situation, and, 
 angry as he was, Plater did not stop to waste time 
 
A Story of ttte Great River. 205 
 
 in idle reproaches just then. He only said, " It s 
 that sneak Gilder s doings, I ll bet my pile." 
 
 Grimshaw agreed to this, and as they hurried 
 along they both thought of their partner as float 
 ing down the river on the raft in company with 
 their enemies and glorying over their discom 
 fiture. 
 
 " We ll get even with him, though," growled 
 Plater. 
 
 " Yes, we will" snarled Grimshaw. 
 
 And then they met the object of their anger 
 hurrying away from the levee which they were 
 approaching. 
 
 " Where are you fellows going ?" he cried, and 
 then, in a lower tone, he added, " We ve got to 
 get out of here in a hurry, for they are in this 
 very town and looking for us. I ve just come 
 from their boat." 
 
 "Who have they left aboard?" asked Grim 
 shaw. 
 
 " Only a child," was the answer. 
 
 " Let us take a look at it, then, so we will know 
 it as well as you the next time we see it." 
 
 So Mr. Gilder went back to point out the What 
 not to his companions, and when they sprang 
 aboard and began to cast off the lines that held it 
 to the levee he followed them, with a vague idea 
 of protecting Sabella. 
 
206 Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 The next moment, Solon, who had just finished 
 hitching up Reward, was startled by the ringing 
 of the engine-room bell. It was the signal to 
 go ahead. Thinking that the others must have 
 returned and were ready to start, he obeyed it. 
 Thus the Whatnot, in full possession of the " river- 
 traders," moved slowly out into the stream, and 
 again started in pursuit of the raft she had fol 
 lowed for so long. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 A DISASTROUS COLLISION. 
 
 THE running off with that boat from the water 
 front of a city in broad daylight was a bold thing 
 to do. But these men were accustomed to taking 
 desperate risks, and had done many more reckless 
 things than this in the course of their lawless ca 
 reers ; besides, they expected to overtake the raft 
 within an hour or so, when they would send the 
 boat back to its owner, or leave it where he 
 could find it. They did not yet understand 
 the connection between Cap n Cod, whom they 
 knew as the proprietor of the Whatnot , and those 
 who were interested in the recovery of the raft. 
 That made no difference, however. It was enough 
 that this boat had been used in their pursuit, and 
 that by taking it they might delay this pursuit 
 until they should recover the raft and make good 
 their escape. Besides, it happened to be the only 
 available boat lying at the levee just then, and 
 they would have taken it even though they had 
 been obliged to use force to gain its possession, so 
 eager were they to recapture the Ventwre. 
 
208 Raftmate: 
 
 This was the reasoniDg of two of the "river- 
 traders ;" while the third sprang aboard because 
 the others did, and without stopping to reason. 
 Gritnshaw made his way at once to the pilot 
 house, where Mr. Gilder followed him, in order to 
 learn his plans. Plater walked aft, and through 
 the engine-room window saw that the mule was 
 already in his treadmill, where Solon had just com 
 pleted his harnessing. Without alarming the negro 
 by making his presence known, the big man stole 
 away, and gaining the pilot-house, rang the en 
 gine-room bell that meant " Go ahead." To the 
 great satisfaction of at least two of the " river- 
 traders" this order was promptly obeyed. Within 
 a couple of minutes the city had disappeared, and 
 the Whatnot was slipping down the fog-enshroud 
 ed river. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ?" demanded Mr. 
 Gilder, as he followed Grimshaw into the pilot 
 house. " Are you crazy that you are going off 
 with this boat and leaving the raft behind ? Or 
 do you mean to run in to where it is, take our 
 stuff aboard, and continue the cruise in this craft ? 
 Because if you do, you can count me out. This 
 is too conspicuous a boat for my use. Why, man, 
 she ll be spotted by the police inside of twenty- 
 four hours 1" 
 
 " I expect it s about time we counted you out. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 
 
 anyway," answered the other, gruffly. "Plater 
 and I have about made up our minds that you are 
 playing a double game, and had some hand in the 
 disappearance of the raft." 
 
 " The disappearance of the raft ?" exclaimed the 
 other, blankly. " What do you mean ? How did 
 the raft disappear? And when did it disappear? 
 And where were you, whom we left to look after 
 it ( If you have lost that raft you ll answer to me 
 for my share in it, and I ll see that you make it 
 good too, you sneaking 5<l 
 
 " Come, come, Gilder ! Simmer down !" inter 
 rupted Plater, who had entered the pilot-house in 
 time to hear these angry words. "This isn t the 
 time nor place for us to quarrel. We ve too much 
 at stake. The raft has gone, and we are after it. 
 That s all Grim and I know. Whatever informa 
 tion you can give concerning its disappearance will 
 be gratefully received. 
 
 The interchange of high words that followed had 
 almost led to blows, when Mr. Gilder suddenly be 
 came silent, and stepped quickly to the pilot-house 
 door. He had just caught sight of Sabella hold 
 ing Don Blossom in her arms, and staring through 
 the open doorway with an expression of frightened 
 bewilderment. She had expected to find her uncle 
 and Billy Brackett and Winn, and had hastened to 
 announce the joyful news of Don Blossom s safety. 
 
10 Raftmates : 
 
 Now as Mr. Gilder led her aft and down into 
 the living-room, he strove to banish that fright 
 ened look by gentle words and reassuring promises. 
 
 "But where is my Uncle Aleck? And where 
 are Mr. Brackett and Winn? I can t find them 
 anywhere. Solon said they were in the pilot 
 house." 
 
 * They are on the raft, and we are going to find 
 them," was the answer. 
 
 " Oh, I m so glad they ve got the raft again! And 
 I m glad you gave it back to them, too. Now, 
 Winn can t say you are a bad man any longer. 
 But you ve only borrowed the What/not for a little 
 while, haven t you ?" 
 
 " Yes, only for a little while." 
 
 " I don t think those others are very nice-looking 
 men, and I was awfully afraid until I saw you. 
 Then I knew it must be all right." 
 
 " It is all right, little one, and there is nothing 
 for you to be afraid of. No harm shall come to 
 you so long as I am here, and I promise to see you 
 safe with your friends again before leaving you. 
 You see, I am making believe that you are my own 
 little girl, and I want you to feel just as safe and 
 happy as she would if she were here in your 
 place." 
 
 " Of course I feel safe now," answered Sabella, 
 promptly. " I have, ever since I found out it was 
 
A Story of the Great River. 211 
 
 you who had borrowed the Whatnot. For a min 
 ute, though, I was afraid those disagreeable " 
 Here the child hesitated. She did not want to 
 hurt her new friend s feelings. " I mean," she 
 added, hastily, "that those other gentlemen had 
 stolen it. And I will make believe I am your own 
 little girl, for I haven t any papa, and only one 
 uncle in the world. I wish you would tell me 
 your name, though. I don t think I ever knew 
 any one so well before without knowing his name." 
 
 The man hesitated, and looked curiously at the 
 sweet face upturned to his. Then, as though ar 
 rived at a sudden conclusion, he said, 
 
 " My name is Gresharn, William Gresham, but 
 my little girl calls me Papa Billy. J! 
 
 " Then we ll make a bargain !" exclaimed Sabella, 
 joyfully. " That s the very name of Winn s uncle; 
 and if I make believe you are my uncle, I shall 
 have an Uncle Billy as well as he. I think that s 
 better, too, because you know a girl couldn t have 
 but one own papa, but she might have a hundred 
 uncles if she wanted. So we ll make that a bar 
 gain, and I ll give you a kiss if you like, because 
 Uncle Aleck says that s always the other part of a 
 bargain." 
 
 With the kiss of the innocent child warm on his 
 lips, William Gresham returned to the upper deck. 
 His heart was very tender at that moment, and 
 
12 ftaftmates: 
 
 though he did not express any resolve in words, 
 he knew that a black page of his life had just been 
 closed, never to be reopened. He met Plater com 
 ing to find him, for he was wanted to aid in keep 
 ing the sharp lookout that the fog rendered nec 
 essary. 
 
 With all their senses alert and strained, the 
 Driver-traders" kept on for two hours without dis 
 covering a trace of the raft. Then they knew they 
 must have passed it, and so headed the Whatnot 
 up-stream again, hoping to meet it. Now they 
 barely held their own, without making any progress, 
 for they knew the raft would drift in the channel 
 with the strongest current, and therefore that 
 where the water ran swiftest they must await its 
 coming. 
 
 Solon, fully occupied with his duties as engineer 
 and with preparations for dinner, paid little heed 
 to Sabella when she looked in at the galley door 
 to inform him that her Uncle Billy said everything 
 was all right. 
 
 " 1 specs so, honey, I specs so, an of co se hit s 
 all right ef yo Unc Billy say so. Him a mighty 
 knowin young gen l man, dat ar Unc Billy am, 
 fo shuah." 
 
 As the day advanced, there were occasional rifts 
 in the fog, and in one of these Mr. Gilder, as we 
 will still call hinit caught a momentary glimpse 
 
A Story of the Great River. SIS 
 
 of the raft. It was drifting at some distance to 
 the right of them, and in a few moments would 
 be again out of sight. His first impulse was to 
 announce this discovery to his companions, and 
 his second was to remain silent. He acted upon 
 the second, and was almost doubtful if he had really 
 seen the raft at all, so quickly did it again disap 
 pear. Suddenly there came a sound of blows, as 
 though some one were chopping wood on board 
 the raft. 
 
 There was an exulting shout from the pilot 
 house, the steering-wheel was put hard over, and 
 the boat began to swing slowly at right angles to 
 the current. She was headed in the direction of 
 the raft, and Mr. Gilder knew that, owing to those 
 ill-timed blows, it had been discovered. Yes. Now 
 he could see it again. There it was, not a hundred 
 yards away, and the Whatnot was headed so as to 
 intercept it as it came down. What should he do \ 
 It would be foolish to struggle for possession of 
 the wheel against the two desperate men in the 
 pilot-house. He could stop the machinery though, 
 or, better still, reverse it, and so give the raft a 
 chance to drift past and again disappear in the 
 mist. For Sabella s sake he would make the 
 attempt. 
 
 He had already started for the lower deck, when 
 his steps were arrested by a second shout from the 
 
Raftmates : 
 
 pilot-house, and another sound that smote on his 
 ear like a death-knell. It was the hoarse note of 
 a deep-toned whistle apparently at his side. There 
 was a jangling of bells, a wild yelling, the roar of 
 escaping steam, and then the dim form of a great 
 up-river packet loomed above the little craft on 
 which he stood like some awful fog monster in 
 tent upon its destruction. 
 
 The man stood at the head of the steps leading 
 down into the living-room, where Sabella, uncon 
 scious of the impending peril, was singing a quaint 
 old hymn as she set the table for dinner. He had 
 heard his mother sing that hymn when he was a 
 boy at home. So long ago, and so far away. A 
 second more and this sweet young life would be 
 blotted out, and the little body, crushed beyond 
 recognition, would be buried deep beneath the 
 waters of the great river, while he would be safe 
 on the lower deck of that steamboat. He could 
 easily spring to it from the upper deck of the 
 Whatnot, as he saw Plater and Grimshaw were 
 about to do. 
 
 " I promise to see you safe with your friends 
 again." That was what he had said, and it was 
 to that child he had said it. In another instant 
 the man had entered the living-room, seized Sa 
 bella in his powerful arms, and had gained the 
 outer door on the side farthest from the steamboat. 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 
 
 Then came the shock. There was a moment of 
 horrible grinding, crashing, and splintering, a inad 
 surging of brown waters, and then the little show 
 boat passed beneath the monster that had crushed 
 out its life. It was gone as utterly as the flame of 
 a candle is extinguished by a puff of wind, and 
 the great river was its grave, as it has been of 
 thousands of other craft, and will be of thousands 
 yet unbuilt. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 IS THIS OUR RAPT OR NOT? 
 
 So anxious was Winn Caspar for the recovery 
 oi the raft lost through his carelessness and over- 
 confidence in his own ability that, having found 
 it again, he could not bear to lose sight of it, even 
 though he had no idea of how he might regain its 
 possession. Therefore, as he stepped ashore after 
 his rebuff by Grimshaw, he only went so far up 
 the trail through the timber as to be concealed 
 from the man s view. Then he darted into the 
 undergrowth and crept back to the river-bank. 
 He reached it just in time to see Grimshaw lock 
 the door of the " shanty, leave the raft, and start 
 up the trail that he himself had taken but a min 
 ute before. 
 
 How long would the man be gone ? Was there 
 any one left on the raft ? These were the questions 
 that came into the boy s mind. There was no 
 sign of life on the Venture, and by running a short 
 distance up the trail Winn became convinced that 
 the man had gone at least as far as the edge of 
 the timber. Would he ever again have so good 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great River. 217 
 
 a chance of recovering his father s property? 
 Besides, what a fine thing it would be for him to 
 recapture the raft alone, without the aid of Billy 
 Brackett or any one else. This latter thought de 
 cided the boy, and caused him to hastily retrace his 
 steps. 
 
 Never had Winn been so excited ! As he 
 sprang aboard the raft and tried to cast off its 
 fastenings he momentarily expected to hear a 
 shout from the bank or a gruff demand from the 
 interior of the " shanty " as to what he was about. 
 Perhaps the summons would take the form of a 
 pistol-shot, for men who would steal a raft and 
 destroy a thousand dollars worth of wheat would 
 not be likely to hesitate at anything. At this lasj 
 thought Winn seemed to feel the deadly sting of i 
 bullet, and in his nervousness only made more 
 intricate the knot he was trying to untie. At 
 length he whipped out his jack-knife and cut the 
 rope. 
 
 Now to head the raft out into the stream. He 
 picked up a long set-pole, thrust one end into the 
 bank, braced himself, and began to push. Oh, 
 how he strained and panted ! How the veins stood 
 out on his forehead ! Still the great mass of tim 
 ber seemed immovable. Again and again he tried, 
 and at length felt a slight yield. A more desper 
 ate effort than before, and he could take a step ; 
 
jRaftmates : 
 
 then another, and another, until he had walked 
 half the length of the pole. The head of the raft 
 was swinging off, at first so slowly that the motion 
 was almost imperceptible, then faster, until fin 
 ally it felt the full force of the current. Now for 
 one more effort ! If he could only work her out 
 from the bank and into the friendly shelter of the 
 fog without discovery, he would feel safe even 
 from pistol-shots. For two minutes Winn labored 
 as never before in all his life. But the minutes 
 seemed hours, and he felt that he might as well 
 attempt to push away the bank itself as the mass 
 of timber on which he stood. Suddenly he heard 
 that which he expected and dreaded, a shout, so 
 loud that it seemed to be uttered on the raft. 
 The set-pole fell from his nerveless grasp as he 
 looked up, fully expecting to gaze into the black 
 muzzle of a pistol. 
 
 At first he saw nothing. He must be turned 
 around. No; the view of the opposite direction 
 was equally blank. Then, for an instant, he 
 caught a glimpse of shadowy tree-tops just dis 
 solving into formless mist. The blessed fog had 
 folded its protecting arms about him, and he was 
 safe. 
 
 Hurrah ! he was once more in undisputed posses 
 sion of the raft, and once more floating on it down 
 the great river. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 219 
 
 Wildly happy, the exhausted boy flung him 
 self down on the wet planks, and yielded to 
 pleasant reflections. It was only twenty miles to 
 St. Louis. The current was carrying him at the 
 rate of five miles an hour, so that he ought to 
 reach the city soon after noon. There he would 
 hail some steamboat or tug, and get it to tow his 
 raft to a safe mooring - place. Then he would 
 telegraph to both his father and his Uncle Billy. 
 After that he would engage some stout man to 
 help guard the raft until his friends arrived. Or 
 perhaps he would buy a revolver and guard it 
 himself, and when his father and Uncle Billy came 
 along, he would challenge them before allowing 
 them to step on board. Yes, that would be the 
 scheme, and the boy became very proud of him 
 self as he thought of the praises in store for him. 
 
 At length Winn rose from his moist resting- 
 place, and began to examine his surroundings. 
 How strange the raft did look, to be sure. He 
 wouldn t have believed its appearance could have 
 been so altered, and now wondered that he had 
 ever recognized it. In fact, the only feature that 
 seemed at all familiar, as he studied it, was the 
 forward gable end of the "shanty." But some 
 how the building itself appeared much longer than 
 when he last saw it. Still, there was that interior. 
 He had seen the partition, with its door leading 
 
$20 Raftmates: 
 
 into his own little room, and he never heard of a 
 raft " shanty " with a partition in it until this one 
 was built. He must have another look at that in 
 terior. 
 
 The locked door baffled him. It was of such 
 solid construction, and its lock was so well made, 
 that it resisted all his efforts to force it. The win 
 dows were provided with heavy wooden shutters 
 that were fastened on the inside. For an hour 
 Winn busied himself with vain efforts to effect an 
 entrance. At the end of that time he was dis 
 couraged. He was also uneasy. He had heard 
 steamboats pass him, but could see nothing of them 
 on account of the fog. The last one passed very 
 close. The next might run him down. How he 
 wished the raft were safely tied to some bank or 
 levee. It was awful to be thus blindly drifting, 
 right in the track of steamboats. The fog hung 
 so low over the water that their pilots were lifted 
 well above it, and could see the landmarks by 
 which they were guided. They could also see other 
 steamboats ; but such things as scows and rafts 
 had no business to be moving at such a time. 
 They were supposed to be snugly tied up, and 
 consequently no pilot would be on the look 
 out for them. Winn knew this as well as any 
 one, and the knowledge did not tend to reassure 
 him. 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 221 
 
 If he only had some one with him to help work 
 the heavy sweeps by which the raft s course might 
 be directed, or even to advise him what to do. It 
 was dreadful to be alone. What a foolish thing he 
 had done, after all, in attempting to manage this 
 affair by himself. If he had only gone back for 
 Billy Brackett. But his boyish pride in his own 
 ability had again overcome his judgment, and now 
 he must abide by the consequences. 
 
 " I only hope, if I do get run down and killed, 
 they will find out who I am," thought the poor 
 boy. " It would be horrid to disappear and have 
 folks say I was a coward, who had run away for 
 fear father would be angry with me for losing his 
 raft. As if my father would ever do anything to 
 make me afraid of him ! And mother! How badly 
 she would feel if I should disappear without ever 
 giving her the comfort of knowing I was dead. 
 There is Elta, too, and the very last time I saw her 
 I was ugly to her. Oh dear ! I wish well, I wish, 
 for one thing, that I could get inside that " shanty," 
 and out of this miserable drizzle. I wonder if I 
 can t pick the lock ?" 
 
 Full of this new idea,Winn obtained a bit of stiff 
 wire from the handle of a lantern that stood out 
 side the "shanty." This he bent as well as he 
 could into the rude form of a key, and thus 
 equipped, he worked patiently at the lock for 
 
Eaftmates : 
 
 another hour. At length he threw away the use 
 less implement in disgust. 
 
 " I was never cut out for a burglar, that s cer 
 tain !" he exclaimed. " There s one thing I can 
 do, though, and I will, too. I can smash down the 
 door, and get inside that way." 
 
 An axe lay beside a pile of wood near the for 
 ward end of the raft ; arid armed with this, the boy 
 began to rain vigorous blows upon the stout door, 
 Before these it quickly yielded, and he thus gained 
 the interior. 
 
 Once inside, he gazed about him blankly. Noth 
 ing looked familiar ; nothing was as he had expected 
 to find it. There was the partition, with a door in 
 it, to be sure, and there was the small room beyond 
 the main one; but there was also another parti 
 tion, and another door beyond this. There had 
 been but two rooms in the Venture s "shanty," 
 while here were three. Then again the " shanty " 
 that he had helped to build was only boarded up 
 on the outside, while the interior had been left 
 unceiled, with the frame exposed. The interior on 
 which he now gazed was wholly ceiled, so as to 
 make the walls of double thickness, and conceal 
 every bit of the framing. 
 
 The perplexed boy noticed these details at a 
 glance ; and as he stood staring blankly about him, 
 the uncomfortable suspicion began to force itself 
 
A Story of the Great Iti/ver. 
 
 into his mind that perhaps this was not the Vent 
 ure after all. 
 
 " If I have run off with some one else s raft, I 
 declare I shall just want to disappear!" he ex- 
 laimed to himself. " I do believe I shall be too 
 ashamed ever to go home again. Oh dear! 
 There is another steamboat." 
 
 The notes of a deep-voiced whistle, evidently 
 near at hand, caused the boy to hasten outside. 
 He could see a huge confused mass dimly loom 
 ing out of the fog ahead, and a little to one side of 
 him. At the same moment he heard the wild 
 jangling of bells, the terrified shoutings, and then 
 the awful crash that denoted a collision. A big 
 up-bound steamboat had run down and sunk a 
 smaller boat of some kind. That much he could 
 see, and he was filled with horror at the nearness 
 and magnitude of the disaster. 
 
 He had heard agonized screams, and knew that 
 lives had been sacrificed. One shrill cry that 
 came to his ears with startling distinctness sound 
 ed as though uttered by a woman or a girl, and 
 Winn shuddered at the thought of her fate. 
 
 The raft was drifting rapidly away from the 
 scene of the catastrophe, and the dimly discerned 
 steamboat was just disappearing from his view, 
 when the boy thought he heard a gurgling cry 
 from the water. Could some bold swimmer have 
 
V&4 Roftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 escaped ? He bent his head to the water s edge 
 and listened. Again he heard the cry. And this 
 time it seemed nearer. Some human being was 
 struggling in the river. Now, if ever, was the 
 time for his promptest action, and with Winn 
 thought and action went hand in hand. 
 
 In another moment he was in the skiff belong 
 ing to the raft, and pulling with all the strength 
 of his stout young arms in the direction of the 
 criea. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE RESCUE OF SABELLA. 
 
 STRONGLY as Winn pulled, the cries grew very 
 faint and almost inaudible during the few seconds 
 that elapsed before he discovered the struggling 
 forms from which they proceeded. A glance over 
 his shoulder showed him a man swimming with 
 one arm, while the other supported a child ap 
 parently a girl. 
 
 With a final powerful stroke the skiff shot 
 alongside the drowning figures, the oars were 
 jerked in, and Winn, leaning over the side, seized 
 the girl s arm. At the same moment the man 
 grasped the gunwale of the skiff. It was no slight 
 task for Winn to get the girl into the boat, for 
 she was unconscious, and formed a dead weight, 
 that was made heavier by her soaked clothing. 
 He finally succeeded ; and as he laid the limp 
 form in the bottom of the skiff and took his first 
 good look at her face, he uttered a cry of amaze 
 ment, and doubted the evidence of his senses. 
 How was it possible that Sabella could be there, 
 and in such a predicament? Could the boat that 
 
220 Raftmates : 
 
 had just been run into be the Whatnot f If so, 
 who was this man? He turned to look, and to 
 help him into the skiff ; but, to his horror, the 
 man had disappeared. 
 
 William Gresham had redeemed his promise 
 with his life. From a cruel wound, made by a 
 splintered timber, he had bled so freely that his 
 fast-failing strength was barely able to hold Sa- 
 bella s head above the surface until Winn came to 
 her rescue. He recognized the boy, and as the little 
 girl was lifted from his arms, he closed his eyes 
 with the peaceful expression of one who is weary 
 and would sleep. Then his grasp of the skiff re 
 laxed, and without a struggle he slipped across the 
 invisible line dividing time from eternity. The 
 hurrying waters closed about him as gently as a 
 mother s arms, and who shall say that in his 
 death the man had not atoned for his life, or 
 that in the tawny flood of the great river his 
 sin was not washed away as though it had never 
 been? 
 
 As for Winn, he was overwhelmed and stunned. 
 It was so sudden, so terrible, and so pitiful. At 
 one moment the man was there, and in the next 
 he was gone without a word. In vain did the 
 boy look over both sides of the skiff and over its 
 stern in the hope that the man might still be 
 clinging to it. Only the swift-flowing waters met 
 
A Story of the Great Eiver. 227 
 
 his gaze, and seemed to mock at his efforts to 
 wrest their secret. 
 
 The man was gone ; there was no doubt of that ; 
 and now came the harrowing question, who was 
 he? Winn had not seen his face. It could not 
 have been the owner of the Whatnot, because, with 
 his wooden leg, he could not swim. It was not 
 Solon, for the head had been that of a white man. 
 Could it have been his mother s only brother, his 
 Uncle Billy, the brave, merry young fellow who 
 was to have been his raftmate? Winn had al 
 ready learned to love as well as to admire Billy 
 Brackett, though how much he had not known, 
 until now that he believed him to be gone out of 
 his life forever. 
 
 He tried to believe that it was some one else, 
 but in vain. The girl whom he had just rescued 
 was certainly Sabella, so of course the boat that 
 he had seen crushed like an egg-shell must have 
 been the Whatnot. Oh, if he had only been a 
 little closer, or if the fog had not been so thick ! 
 The boat was almost certain to have been the What 
 not though, and in that case the brave swimmer, 
 who had missed safety by a hair s-breadth must 
 have been 
 
 Here a moan diverted Winn s attention from 
 his own unhappiness, and caused him to spring to 
 the side of the little girl. She opened her eyes 
 
Baftmates : 
 
 and looked at him. "Oh, Sabella!" he cried, 
 " tell me who saved you ? Was it Mr. Brackett 
 my Uncle Billy, you know ?" 
 
 " My Uncle Billy," she murmured faintly ; then 
 she again closed her eyes wearily, and seemed to 
 sleep. 
 
 " It was he, then ; it was he !" And Winn, break 
 ing down, sobbed aloud. " And all my fault that 
 he came on this trip ! My fault, my fault !" he 
 repeated over and over again. 
 
 At length he became conscious of the selfishness 
 of thus giving way to his feelings while Sabella 
 was still in such urgent need of his aid. 
 
 " I must get her to the raft at once !" he ex 
 claimed, starting up and looking about him. But 
 there was no raft, nor was there any steamboat. 
 There was nothing but the skiff with themselves 
 in it, a small circle of brown water, and the fog. 
 He had no idea of direction, not even whether his 
 skiff was heading up-stream or down, or drifting 
 broadside to the current. If the fog would only 
 lift ! It had been so kind to him, but now was so 
 dreadful. 
 
 The boy took off his coat, folded it, and put it 
 under Sabella s head. Then he sat beside her and 
 rubbed her cold hands. He knew of nothing else 
 that he could do for her, and so he waited waited 
 for the fog to lift or for help to come. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 289 
 
 At length he began to hear sounds from every 
 direction, the sound of whistles, bells, and hundreds 
 of other noises. He must have reached St. Louis, 
 and it would never do to drift past it. Besides, 
 the danger of being run down was now greater 
 than ever. So the boy took to his oars, and be 
 gan to pull in the direction from which the loud 
 est sound of whistles appeared to come. 
 
 Suddenly he was hailed. " Look out dar, boss !" 
 
 " Hold on !" shouted Winn. " I am in trouble, 
 and will give you a dollar to pilot me ashore." 
 
 A skiff came alongside. It contained but a sin 
 gle occupant, a negro, who appeared nearly as old 
 as Solon. He listened with open-mouthed won 
 der to the boy s hurriedly told story, and not only 
 expressed a ready sympathy, but promised to have 
 " de young gen l man an der lilly lady lamb on 
 de sho in free minutes. Ole Clod, him know de 
 way. De frog can t fool him on desh yer ribber." 
 
 With renewed hope Winn followed closely be 
 hind his dusky pilot, and in another minute caught 
 sight of the welcome land. It was East St. Louis, 
 on the Illinois side of the river, at that time a 
 great railroad terminus, and Clod s little cabin 
 stood at the edge of high- water-mark ; for he was 
 a boatman, and gained his living from the river. 
 
 "Now, young inarse, you mus come up to my 
 house, whar my ole oman fixin de lilly gal all 
 
230 Raftmates : 
 
 right in no time." So saying, the negro lifted Sa- 
 bella in his strong arms and started towards his 
 cabin, to which Winn was only too glad to follow 
 him. The boy had never felt so utterly helpless 
 and forlorn. 
 
 He no longer thought of taking matters into his 
 own hands, but was thankful to accept even the 
 humble guidance of this negro. Under the cir 
 cumstances he could not have fallen into better 
 hands. Not only was Clod strong, willing, and 
 possessed of a shrewd knowledge gained by rough 
 experience, but his " ole ornan," Aunt Yiney, a 
 motherly soul of ample proportions, was account 
 ed the best all-round nurse of the neighborhood. 
 She was never happier than when bustling about 
 in a service like the present ; and within live 
 minutes Sabella was nestled in the snowy centre of 
 a huge bed, with Aunt Yiney crooning over her 
 like a brooding tenderness, and rapidly restoring 
 the color to the child s pallid cheeks. 
 
 At the same time "Winn was sitting by the 
 kitchen stove in a cloud of steam from his own 
 wet clothing, absorbing warmth and comfort, and 
 relating his adventures at length to the sympa 
 thetic old man. 
 
 Clod s interest and wonder at the boy s story 
 were shown by uplifted hands, rolling eyes, and 
 such ejaculations as " How yo talk, chile !" " Well, 
 
A Stot^y of the Great River. SSI 
 
 I nebber!" "Dat s so, bress de Lawd!" "Ef dat 
 ar ain t de beatenest !" 
 
 At length Aunt Yiney tiptoed heavily into the 
 kitchen with the joyful announcement that Sa- 
 bella, fully restored to consciousness, was sleeping 
 naturally and quietly. 
 
 "When she wakin she be all right an hongry, 
 de honey lamb! An I reckin dis young gen l - 
 man hongry now, an ef he ain t he orter be, fer 
 eatin am de bestes t ing in de worl when yo 
 is in trouble," she added, as she bustled softly 
 about, making preparations for a simple meal. 
 
 Winn did not think he could eat a mouthful, so 
 full was he of grief and trouble ; but on making 
 the attempt, merely to gratify the kindly soul, 
 found that he not only could but did dispose of 
 as hearty a meal of bread and milk, coffee, bacon, 
 and sweet-potatoes, as any he had ever eaten in 
 his life. Not only that, but as his faintness from 
 hunger disappeared his hopefulness returned, and 
 by the time he had finished eating fully half of 
 his troubles had vanished. He was still over 
 whelmed with grief at the supposed loss of his 
 brave young uncle, but he had already resolved 
 upon a plan of action, and felt better for having 
 done so. He would send a telegram to his father 
 hinting at the great sorrow that had overtaken 
 them, and asking him to come on at once. Then 
 
Raftonates : 
 
 he would notify the police of the collision, with its 
 probable loss of at least three lives, and ask them 
 to keep a watch for the bodies. He would also 
 tell them of the lost raft. 
 
 After great searching, Clod finally produced an 
 old pen, some very thick ink, and a few sheets of 
 paper quite yellow with age. Then he watched 
 with respectful admiration the writing of the tele 
 gram, for penmanship was an art he had never ac 
 quired. He offered to take the message to the 
 telegraph office while Winn was preparing a 
 statement for the police, and as he was evidently 
 anxious to be of service, the boy allowed him to 
 do so. 
 
 The nearest telegraph office was in the railway 
 station, and as Clod approached it he found him 
 self involved in the crowd of passengers just 
 brought in by a newly -arrived train from the 
 North. He dodged here and there among them, 
 but finally, in escaping a truck -load of baggage, 
 he stumbled over the chain by which a gentleman 
 was leading a dog, and plumped full into the arms 
 of a white-headed negro who was close behind it. 
 
 " Scuse me, sah !" began poor Clod, most polite 
 ly. Then he stared, stammered, tried to speak, 
 but only choked in the effort, and threw his arms 
 about the neck of the old negro, laughing and sob 
 bing in the same breath. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 233 
 
 " Doesn t yo know me, Solom ?" he gasped. 
 * 4 Doesn t yo know yer own br er Clod? Doesn t 
 yo member de ole plantashun way down in Lou- 
 siana, befo de wah, an Clod ? yo own br er 
 Clod ?" 
 
 Then Solon recognized his only brother, long 
 mourned as dead, and the two old men embraced, 
 and wept, and held each other off at arm s-length 
 to get a better look at the other s changed but still 
 familiar face. The hurrying passengers smiled at 
 this spectacle at once so ridiculous and so pathetic, 
 but good-naturedly made way for the old men, 
 while Bim, sharing the general excitement, barked 
 and danced about, until his chain was entangled 
 with the legs of at least half a dozen persons 
 at once. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 BEM BRINGS ABOUT A JOYFUL MEETING. 
 
 EVEN with Bim s aid, Billy Brackett failed to 
 find the man who had escaped him in Alton by 
 running through the store and out of its back 
 door. The young engineer was convinced that he 
 was one of those who had stolen the raft, and it 
 was certainly very trying to recover the trail, as 
 he had just done, only to lose it again immediate 
 ly. So loath was he to abandon the search that it 
 was very nearly noon before he did so, and re 
 traced his steps to the river. As he approached 
 the place where the Whatnot had been moored, 
 he was surprised not to see the boat, and turned 
 towards a group of men, all of whom seemed to be 
 talking at once, to make inquiries. At that mo 
 ment the group opened, and from it Cap n Cod, 
 red-faced and anxious, came hastily stumping in 
 his direction. 
 
 " Where is the Whatnot?" asked Billy Brackett. 
 
 "That s what I want to know," replied the 
 other, excitedly. " And where have you been all 
 this time? I have been here, and in a state of 
 
Raftmates: A Story of ike Great River. 236 
 
 mind, for more than an hour, not knowing what 
 to do. Some of these men say they saw three 
 fellows go off with the boat soon after we left 
 here, and of course I thought they must be you, 
 Winn, and Solon ; but I couldn t understand it at 
 all. Now that you are here, I understand it still 
 less. Where is Winnf Here the old man 
 paused, quite out of breath, but still questioning 
 his companion with anxious eyes. 
 
 "I haven t seen anything of Winn since we 
 all left the boat," replied Billy Brackett, who 
 could hardly comprehend the startling informa 
 tion just given him. u Do you mean to say 
 that the Whatnot has been stolen ? Great Scott ! 
 I wonder if those fellows can have had a hand 
 in it?" 
 
 " What fellows ?" 
 
 Then Billy Brackett told of his fleeting glimpse 
 of Plater, and of his consequent belief that the 
 raft and all three of the " river-traders " must be 
 in that vicinity. 
 
 " There s a raft, with three men aboard it, who 
 call themselves river-traders, moored at the edge 
 of that timber, just below the city," volunteered 
 one of the by-standers, who had overheard the 
 young man s remarks. 
 
 " Will you go with me and point it out ?" asked 
 Billy Brackett, eagerly. 
 
286 Baftmate*: 
 
 " Yes, I don t mind, seeing that this weather 
 makes a bit of slack time," replied the man. 
 
 So requesting Cap n Cod to wait there until 
 his return, and promising to be back as quickly as 
 possible, the young engineer and his guide, followed 
 by several curiosity -seekers, started in search of 
 the raft. It is needless to say that they failed to 
 find it, though another hour elapsed before Billy 
 Brackett returned. He was disappointed, but was 
 possessed of a theory. 
 
 " 1 believe Winn has found that raft," he said 
 to Cap n Cod, as they sat together in the small 
 hotel to which they had repaired for a consultation 
 and dinner. " But he probably discovered it just 
 as those fellows, alarmed at meeting me, were 
 putting off for another run down the river. Then 
 he hurried back here, and not finding us, took the 
 responsibility of starting after them in the What 
 not, hoping in that way to keep them in sight. 
 It was a crazy performance, though just such a one 
 as that boy would undertake. He is a splendid 
 fellow, with the one conspicuous failing of believ 
 ing that he knows what to do under any circum 
 stances just a little better than any one else. So 
 he has persuaded Solon that it is their duty to 
 keep that raft in sight until it is tied up again, and 
 then he ll telegraph to us. It is more than likely 
 that the raft will stop at St. Louis, in which case 
 
A Story of the Great River. 
 
 they must be nearly there by this time, and we 
 ought to hear from Winn very soon. That is my 
 theory, and now I ll run up to the telegraph office 
 and see if a despatch has come." 
 
 There was no message for any one named 
 Brackett, and so, after leaving word to have any 
 thing that came for him sent to the hotel, the 
 young man hastened back. An up-river steam 
 boat had just made fast to the levee, and the two 
 anxious men went down to see if her pilot had 
 seen anything of the Whatawt. As they approached 
 they saw by her splintered bows that she had been 
 in a collision. Others had noticed this also, and 
 already a crowd of people was gathered about her 
 gang-plank to learn the news. Forcing a way 
 through for himself and Cap n Cod, Billy Brack 
 ett boarded the boat, and went directly to the Cap 
 tain s room. 
 
 The Captain was inclined to be ugly and un 
 communicative ; but, with a happy thought, Billy 
 Brackett displayed the badge with which Sheriff 
 Kiley had provided him. At sight of it the man 
 at once expressed his readiness to impart all the 
 information they might require. 
 
 Yes, he had been in collision with a trading- 
 scow, but there were no lives lost, and the dam 
 age had already been satisfactorily settled. It 
 happened a couple of miles above St. Louis, and 
 
%S8 Raftmates : 
 
 the fog was so thick that she was not seen until 
 they were right on her. She was crossing the 
 channel, and they struck her amidship, sinking 
 her almost instantly. 
 
 Her name ? Why, according to this paper, it 
 was the Whatnot. Queer sort of a name, and she 
 looked to be a queer sort of craft. 
 
 At this Billy Brackett s face grew very pale, 
 while poor Cap n Cod sank into a chair and 
 groaned. 
 
 "No lives lost, you say? What then became 
 of the people who were on board that trading- 
 scow V 
 
 " There were only three," answered the Captain ; 
 "her owner, a Mr. Caspar, a deck hand, and the 
 cook, a black fellow. The first two saved them 
 selves by leaping aboard this boat just as she 
 struck, and we picked the nigger up in the skiff 
 that we immediately lowered to look for surviv 
 ors." 
 
 " You say the owner was a Mr. Caspar ?" 
 
 " Yes, here is the name signed to this paper. 
 You see, though we were in no way to blame, they 
 might have sued for heavy damages and bothered 
 us considerably. So when her owner offered to 
 compromise and waive all claims for three hun 
 dred dollars, I thought it was the cheapest way 
 out of the scrape, and took him up. I had this 
 
A Story of tlie Great fivver. 239 
 
 paper prepared by a lawyer who is on board, and 
 witnessed before a notary, so that it is all square 
 and ship-shape. See, here is Mr. Caspar s signa 
 ture." 
 
 Sure enough, there at the bottom of the paper 
 exhibited by the Captain was the name "Winn 
 Caspar," written clearly and boldly. It certainly 
 looked like Winn s signature. 
 
 Billy Brackett was staggered. What could it 
 all mean? Something was evidently wrong; but 
 what it was he could not determine. 
 
 " Where is this Mr. Caspar now ?" he asked. 
 
 "Went ashore the moment we touched here," 
 was the reply. " Said he must hurry back to St. 
 Louis. Took his man with him." 
 
 " Was he a young fellow ; a mere boy, in fact ?" 
 
 " Oh, bless you, no ! He was past middle-age. 
 Small, thin man, with a smooth face ; and the 
 other was a big man with a beard." 
 
 "And what became of the cook, the negro, 
 whom you rescued ?" 
 
 " He s down below somewhere, getting dry. I 
 told the mate to look after him." 
 
 " But where is my niece Sabella ? The little 
 girl that was on board the Whatnot" asked Cap n 
 Cod, with a pitiful quaver in his voice. 
 
 " Little girl 2" repeated the steamboat Captain, in 
 surprise. " There wasn t any girl on board. This 
 
240 Raftmates : 
 
 is the first mention I have heard of any such per 
 son, and Mr. Caspar would surely have spoken of 
 her if she had existed. What are you men driv 
 ing at, anyway ?" 
 
 With a forced calmness, and ignoring this ques 
 tion, Billy Brackett asked if they might see the 
 rescued negro. 
 
 " Certainly, I ve no objections. Only you ll have 
 to be spry about it, for I m going to pull out of 
 here inside of a couple of minutes. I only stopped 
 to land Mr. Caspar." 
 
 They found Solon just getting into his dried 
 clothing, and the faithful fellow s face lighted as 
 he saw them. There was, however, a reproachful 
 tone in his voice as he exclaimed, " T ank de Lawd, 
 yo is safe, Marse Cap n, an Marse Brack. Ole 
 Solon feelin mighty bad when yo ain t comin to 
 see him, an Marse Winn too. But dese yeah 
 folk ain t tellin me nuffin of Missy Sabel. She 
 gettin saved same as de res of us, ain t she ? Say 
 de good word, Marse Cap n, an don t tell de ole 
 man dat honey lamb done got drownded. Don t 
 tell him dat ar?" 
 
 There was no time for explanations then, so 
 they hurried Solon ashore and up to the hotel. 
 There his replies to their questions, and his ques 
 tions in turn, only served to deepen the mystery 
 in which the fate of the Whatnot s passengers 
 
A Story of the Great River. 241 
 
 had become involved. He could not be persuaded 
 that they had not been on board at the time of 
 the accident. Sabella had been talking to him of 
 what her " Uncle Billy " had just told her only a 
 few minutes before it occurred. He was also pos 
 itive that Winn had been on board the ill-fated 
 craft. He was certain that Reward died at his 
 post of duty, though of Don Blossom s fate he 
 knew nothing. How he himself had escaped he 
 could not explain, for he remembered nothing after 
 the shock of the collision. 
 
 " It is evident," said Billy Brackett, at length, 
 " that we must get to St. Louis as quickly as pos 
 sible, and strive to unravel this mystery there." 
 
 Cap n Cod agreed that this seemed the best 
 thing to be done, and as there was a train about 
 to leave for the South, they hurried to the station. 
 
 As Bim was forced to ride in the baggage-car, 
 and his master declined to leave him, both Cap n 
 Cod and Solon rode there as well. All three 
 spent the hour s run to East St. Louis in discuss 
 ing the strange occurrences of the day, and trying 
 to discover some ground for belief that either 
 Winn or Sabella, or both, might still be alive. In 
 this effort they met with so little success that, by 
 the time they reached their destination, they had 
 wellnigh abandoned all hope of ever again seeing 
 either the boy or girl who were so dearly loved. 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great Ewer. 
 
 Poor Cap n Cod was broken-hearted, while Billy 
 Brackett resolutely refused to think of the sad 
 telegram he must send back to Caspar s Mill. 
 
 If it had not been that Bim compelled them to 
 ride in the baggage-car, they might have discovered 
 the two " river-traders," Grimshaw and Plater, who 
 were also on the train. Bim did discover them 
 on the platform at East St. Louis, and he was in 
 the act of springing towards Mr. Plater, when the 
 old negro Clod stumbled over his chain and into 
 Solon s arms. 
 
 In his joyful excitement at this wonderful meet 
 ing with the brother whom he had never expect- 
 ed to see again, Clod allowed a slip of paper to 
 fall unheeded to the ground, and Billy Brackett 
 picked it up. He glanced carelessly at it, and 
 then his shout of amazement as he saw written on 
 it the name " Winn Caspar " startled not only his 
 companions, but every one on the station plat 
 form. 
 
 Two minutes later four excited men, accom 
 panied by a white bull-dog straining at his chain 
 and barking as joyfully as though he understood 
 the whole situation, were hurrying with all speed 
 in the direction of Clod s cabin on the river-bank. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 IN CLOD S CABIN. 
 
 AUNT YINEY heard Bim s joyful voice, and glan 
 cing anxiously towards the door of the room in 
 which Sabella lay, she muttered, "Drat dat ar 
 dorg ! He eholy wake up missy wif he barkin ." 
 
 The barking did waken Sabella, and as she lifted 
 her head to listen, she whispered wonderingly to 
 herself, "It s Birn! It s dear old Bim. I know 
 his voice." 
 
 Winn, bending wearily over the statement he 
 was preparing for the police, heard the barking, 
 and looked up with a startled expression on his 
 troubled face. " If I didn t know that it couldn t 
 be, I should say that was Bim s bark. Poor old 
 dog !" he thought. 
 
 The next instant he sprang to his feet with a 
 cry. Could the dead come to life? Could the 
 drowned be resurrected? Could the handsome, 
 smiling, eager figure in the doorway be that of the 
 young uncle whose untimely death he had so truly 
 mourned ? A quick step, a joyful shout, and the 
 two were face to face, with hand clasped in hand. 
 
244. Itafitnates : 
 
 " It has been a terrible lesson, Uncle Billy, but 
 I think I have learned it," said Winn. 
 
 " Thank God, my dear boy, that the experience 
 has been gained so cheaply ; for I feared it had 
 cost you your life. 
 
 " But where is my little one, my Sabella ?" 
 asked Cap n Cod, anxiously. They told me she 
 was here." 
 
 " Here I am, Uncle Aleck," came the dear voice 
 from the inner room. Then there was another 
 glad reunion of those who had thought never again 
 to meet in this life ; while the old man counted as 
 nothing the loss of all he had possessed, so long as 
 this child was left to him. 
 
 When Aunt Yiney was told who Solon was, she 
 made him a deep courtesy, and then, with tears 
 streaming down her cheeks, she began to sing : 
 
 " Praise God from whom all blessings flow ; 
 Praise Him all creatures here below. 
 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ; 
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 
 
 Before she finished the first line they were all 
 singing with her, and never did this grand old 
 hymn of thanksgiving find a more fervent utter 
 ance. 
 
 As for Bim, there never was a happier bull-dog 
 in this world. He barked as long as his voice held 
 
A Story of the Great Rwer. 245 
 
 out, and jumped up on every one, and tore wildly 
 about the room until his chain fastened itself to a 
 table leg. Then, with a few spoke-like revolu 
 tions, he became completely wound up, and lay 
 panting on the floor, only waiting to be released 
 that he might again go through with the entire 
 performance. 
 
 After comparative quiet had been restored, 
 though every one was still talking at once, the 
 questions arose, " Who saved Sabella ? Was any 
 one drowned? If so, who was it? Did Winn 
 bring the Whatnot down the river ? If not, how 
 did he reach the scene of the catastrophe ? How 
 did the boy s signature happen to be attached to 
 the paper in possession of the steamboat Captain ? 
 These and a dozen other questions were asked in 
 a breath, and then all began to answer them at 
 once. Finally, Billy Brackett called the meeting 
 to order, and asked each one to tell his story in 
 turn, beginning with Cap n Cod. 
 
 The most interesting stories, and those throwing 
 the most light on the situation, were Winn s and 
 Sabella s. At first they were all puzzled to know 
 who Mr. Gresham could have been. Then Sabella 
 said, " Why, don t you know, Uncle Aleck ? He 
 was the one who sold you the canoe, and the one 
 Winn said was a bad man. He brought Don 
 Blossom back, and I told him all about Mr. Brack- 
 
Raftmates : 
 
 ett and Winn and the raft and everything, and 
 he was so glad he started right off to find them. 
 Then he came back with two other men, and said 
 you were all on the raft, and they borrowed the 
 Whatnot to go and find you with. He was one of 
 the very nicest and kindest and best men I ever 
 knew, and was going to be my Uncle Billy, so 
 I could have one as well as Winn, and now he s 
 drowned, and " 
 
 Here the little girl began to sob bitterly, while 
 Billy Brackett and Winn and Cap n Cod looked 
 at each other, and almost simultaneously pro 
 nounced the name " Gilder." 
 
 They did not speak it very loud, for the last 
 splendid act of the man s life had won for him the 
 right to an unstained name. Hereafter they would 
 only remember him as William Gresham the hero. 
 
 Thus was cleared up most of the mystery that, 
 like the fog, had enveloped the proceedings of 
 that memorable day. 
 
 Now what was to be done next ? Where was 
 the raft, and was it the Venture or not ? At one 
 moment Winn was certain that it was, while the 
 next found him again doubtful. 
 
 At length it was decided that Solon should re 
 main with his brother for the present, while the 
 others should go to a hotel in the city across the 
 river. From there Billy Brackett would telegraph 
 
A Story of the Great River. 247 
 
 to the authorities of towns farther down, asking 
 them to watch for an abandoned raft, and if they 
 found it to hold it until he could go on and prove 
 ownership. The raft being described as belonging 
 to a Major Caspar, Winn s name was signed to all 
 these despatches, in order to prevent confusion. 
 
 From the hotel Billy Brackett also thought it 
 best to telegraph Major Caspar of their safe arrival 
 in St. Louis, though, as they had not yet recovered 
 the raft, it would be unnecessary for him to come 
 on, and a promise to write full particulars at once. 
 In the Major s absence from home this despatch 
 was opened by Mrs. Caspar, who had been grow 
 ing very anxious of late concerning the voyagers 
 on the great river. The moment she read it she 
 sat down and wrote another despatch to her hus 
 band, who was in Chicago. It was : 
 
 " Raftmates in St. Louis. Southern Hotel. 
 Please join them immediately." 
 
 "Just ten words," she said to herself, with a 
 complacent sigh, as she handed this to the waiting 
 messenger. " Now if John acts promptly, he may 
 catch those crazy boys before they have the chance 
 to start off on any other absurd expedition. I only 
 hope to goodness that he ll have the sense to bring 
 them home, and let that wretched raft drift where 
 ifclikea" 
 
248 Eaftmates : 
 
 Major Caspar could not start for St. Louis the 
 next day, but he did so on the following morning, 
 and late that same evening he walked into the 
 office of the Southern Hotel. He was beginning 
 to make inquiries at the desk, when his hand was 
 seized and violently shaken. Turning quickly, he 
 at once recognized his faithful old army friend 
 Cap n Cod, and gave him a cordial greeting. 
 
 " But where are the others ?" he inquired at 
 length. 
 
 " Gone down the river an hour ago, by the Short 
 Line," was the unexpected reply. " You see, we 
 only got word this evening that an abandoned raft, 
 answering our description, had just been picked up 
 near Cairo, and Mr. Brackett thought it best that 
 he and Winn should go on at once to indentify it. 
 It was also decided that Sabella and I should remain 
 here until we heard from them, because it might 
 not be the Venture, you know, and then I m not 
 sure that we want to go any farther down the 
 river, anyway. You see, since losing the Whatnot, 
 I ve rather lost interest " 
 
 " Losing the Whatnot /" interrupted the Major. 
 " What do you mean 2" 
 
 "Why, haven t you heard?" Then they sat 
 down, and the old man related all that had hap 
 pened to the Whatnot and her passengers since 
 leaving Dnbuque. 
 
A Story of ifie Great River. 
 
 When the recital was ended, the Major drew a 
 long breath, and exclaimed, " Well, for mysterious 
 happenings, incidents, and rapid changes of scene, 
 that beats anything in the line of Mississippi raft 
 ing that ever I heard of. So now they are off again, 
 and goodness knows what scrapes they will get 
 into next ; while here I am, as helpless to prevent 
 them as an old hen with a brood of ducklings. 
 There is one thing I can do. though. I must re 
 turn to Caspar s Mill at once, and I want you and 
 your niece to go with me. With my recently in 
 creased business, I need just such a man as you to 
 look after my home interests, while my daughter 
 Elta, needs just such a girl as your Sabella is 
 described to be for a companion." 
 
 Tears stood in the old soldier s eyes as he real 
 ized all that this offer meant to him and to the 
 girl who was so dear to him ; and, in accepting it, 
 he blessed the kindly heart by which it had been 
 prompted. 
 
 The Major sent a despatch to the address in 
 Cairo left by Billy Brackett, directing that young 
 man to dispose of the raft as he thought best, to 
 take care of Winn, come home as soon as they 
 could, and telling of his plans for Cap n Cod and 
 Sabella. He also telegraphed to Mrs. Caspar that 
 he should be at home the next day but one, bring 
 ing strangers with him. 
 
960 Raftmates : 
 
 She, of course, thought he meant the " raft 
 mates," as she had called Winn and Billy Brackett 
 from the first, and was amazed to see an old man 
 and a young girl seated in the carriage with her 
 husband as it drove up to the house. At first she 
 was greatly disappointed, but within a few days 
 she became reconciled to the new arrangement, for 
 she could not help loving the gentle old man who 
 was so fond of her boy, nor rejoicing in the warm 
 friendship that almost immediately sprang up be 
 tween Elta and Sabella. 
 
 In the mean time Billy Brackett and Winn 
 reached Cairo early in the morning, and after 
 breakfast at a hotel, they called on the City Mar 
 shal, who had sent the despatch relating to the 
 raft. To their surprise, he received them coldly, 
 and informed them that Mr. Caspar had already 
 been there, had expressed his willingness to pay 
 a hundred dollars reward for the recovery of his 
 raft, and had just gone down to take possession 
 of it. 
 
 This was an astounding bit of information, and 
 Winn was about to let his rapidly rising indigna 
 tion break forth, when Billy Brackett restrained 
 him, and asked, mildly, if the Marshal had any ob 
 jections to their looking at the raft in question 
 simply to gratify their curiosity. 
 
 " Oh no. You can look at her as much as you 
 
A Story of the Great Biver. 251 
 
 like, and you will find her just around the point 
 there, in possession of the two young men who 
 picked her up that is, if they haven t already 
 turned her over to her rightful owner." 
 
 Again Winn would have exploded, but again his 
 companion restrained him, at the same time leading 
 him from the office. 
 
 They found the raft without much difficulty, and 
 walked on board. Just then the broken door of the 
 " shanty " opened, and two young fellows, hardly 
 older than Winn, stepped out. As they did so one 
 of them turned and said, politely, " Well, good-bye, 
 and a pleasant voyage to you, Mr. Caspar." Then 
 they both faced the new-comers. 
 
 Such an expression of blank amazement as 
 flashed over their faces Winn thought he had 
 never seen. For an instant they stood spellbound. 
 Then there was a yell of recognition, or rather a 
 chorus of yells from both sides. 
 
 " Billy Brackett, as I m a sinner ! Whoop ! Hoo 
 ray for the Baldheads and the Second Division!" 
 
 " Billy Brackett, or his ghost !" 
 
 "Glen Eddy! Grip, old man! How? When? 
 Where? Why? 
 
 " Oh, gimminy crack, come hold me tight. 
 
 It makes me laugh and shout. 
 It fills my heart with gay delight 
 When " 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 CAMPMATES TURN RAPTMATBS. 
 
 " Wow wow w-o-w-w I" howled Bim, with his 
 ridiculous nose uplifted and a most melancholy 
 expression of countenance. He felt in duty bound 
 to accompany his master s singing, but on this oc 
 casion, at least, he brought it to a sudden conclu 
 sion, for no one could possibly sing in face of the 
 uproarious laughter that greeted his outburst. 
 
 " That s always the way," remarked Billy Brack- 
 ett, with a comical expression. " I never am al 
 lowed to prove what I am really capable of in the 
 vocal line. But what are you boys doing here? 
 Where did you come from, where are you going, 
 and how in the name of all that is obscure and 
 remarkable do you happen to be on board our 
 raft?" 
 
 "Your raft?" echoed Glen Elting. "What do 
 you mean by your raft ? We called it our raft 
 until a few minutes ago, and now we call it Mr. 
 Caspar s raft." 
 
 " Yes, I know. Major Caspar s raft. But it s 
 all the same as ours, for I am his brother-in-law, 
 
Raftmates : A Story of the Great jRwer. 253 
 
 and have his written authority to dispose of it as I 
 see fit. Besides, this is his son, and we have been 
 hunting this raft for the best part of a month. By- 
 the - way, Winn, these are two old, or Irather two 
 young, campmates of mine, Mr. Glen Eddy I mean 
 Matherson ; no, I beg pardon Elting is the name 
 at present, I believe." 
 
 "Do you know him intimately?" interrupted 
 Winn, slyly. 
 
 Billy Brackett made a dive at the boy, but as 
 the latter leaped nimbly aside, he continued : "And 
 Mr. Binney Gibbs, popularly known as * Grip. 
 Gentlemen, this impudent young vil-ly-an is my 
 nephew, Mr. Winn Caspar." 
 
 Instead of acknowledging this introduction, Glen 
 and Binney looked curiously at each other. Then 
 the former said, "There seems to be something 
 wrong here, Billy, for we have just turned this 
 raft over to its owner, Mr. Winn Caspar, and he is 
 in the house here at this moment." 
 
 "That s all right," replied Billy Brackett. "I 
 rather expected to find that gentleman here, and 
 now we will go inside for an interview with him." 
 So saying, he tried to open the door, but found it 
 fastened. In spite of its splintered condition, it 
 was secured so firmly that it took them several 
 minutes to force it open. When this was accom 
 plished, and an entrance was effected, the four 
 
854. Rafimates : 
 
 gazed blankly about them and at each other. The 
 large room was empty. So were the two smaller 
 ones beyond, while an open window in the last 
 showed the manner in which Messrs. Plater and 
 Grimshaw had effected their escape. 
 
 "It s too bad," said Billy Brackett; "for having 
 had several interesting interviews with those gen 
 tlemen, I should have been glad of another. I 
 think Winn would have been pleased to meet his 
 namesake too." 
 
 " Indeed I should," replied the boy. " I d like 
 to collect rent for the use of my signature, and find 
 out where he learned to copy it so perfectly." 
 
 " But I don t understand all this at all," said 
 Glen Siting. "If this raft isn t theirs, why did 
 they want it badly enough to pay three hundred 
 dollars reward for its recovery ?" 
 
 " Whom did they pay it to ?" asked Billy Brack 
 ett. 
 
 " A hundred to the City Marshal, and a hundred 
 each to Binney and me. We didn t want to take 
 it, but they insisted, and said they should feel hurt 
 if we refused. So, of course, rather than hurt 
 their feelings But really, Billy, they are most 
 gentlemanly fellows, and I think behaved very 
 handsomely." 
 
 " Will you let me see the hundred dollars they 
 gave you ?" asked the young engineer. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 256 
 
 "Certainly," replied Glen, with an air of sur 
 prise, and adding, rather stiffly, "though I didn t 
 think, Billy, that you would require proof of mj 
 truthfulness." 
 
 " I don t, my dear boy, I don t ! exclaimed 
 Billy Brackett. " I would believe your unsup 
 ported word quicker than the sworn statement of 
 most men. I want to look at that money for a 
 very different purpose." 
 
 So a roll of brand-new bills was handed to him, 
 and he examined them one by one with the utmost 
 care. 
 
 " There are two hundred dollars here," he said 
 at length. "Is this Binney s share of the reward as 
 well as your own?" 
 
 " No. I had a hundred-dollar bill, and Mr. Cas 
 par seeing it, asked if I would mind taking small 
 bills for it, as he wanted one of that amount 
 to send off by mail ; so, of course, I let him 
 have it." 
 
 " Oh, my children ! my children !" murmured 
 Billy Brackett, "why will you persist in attempt 
 ing to travel through this wicked world without a 
 guardian ? Of all the scrapes from which I have 
 been called to rescue you, this might have proved 
 the most serious." 
 
 " I don t see how," said both Glen and Binney. 
 
 Winn knew, and he smiled a little self-compla- 
 
266 JKa/imates : 
 
 cent smile as he reflected, " This is a little worse 
 than any mess I ever got into." 
 
 " You would have seen quickly enough if you 
 had tried to spend this money," said Billy Brackett, 
 "for you would undoubtedly have been arrested 
 on the charge of counterfeiting. Those same fel 
 lows put Winn here in that fix a short time 
 since, besides getting away with a thousand dollars 
 worth of wheat that he had in charge, and now they 
 have come very near serving you the same trick." 
 
 Here Winn s smile faded away rather suddenly, 
 while Glen exclaimed, 
 
 " Do you mean to say that these bills are counter 
 feit?" 
 
 "I do," replied Billy Brackett; "and if you 
 doubt it, take them to the first bank you come 
 across and ask the cashier." 
 
 "But the City Marshal took some just like 
 them," argued Glen, catching at the only straw of 
 hope in sight. 
 
 " So much the worse for the City Marshal, and 
 I for one shall let him suffer the consequences. 
 He had no business to accept a reward for per 
 forming a simple act of duty, in the first place; 
 and in the second, the readiness with which he 
 delivered this raft to the first claimants who came 
 along makes it look very much as though he could 
 be bribed." 
 
A Story of the Great River. 
 
 " Well," said Glen, in a despairing tone, " if 
 what yon say is true, and I know it must be, we 
 Are in a fix. That hundred dollars was to pay our 
 expenses to New Orleans ; now I don t know how 
 we shall get there." 
 
 " New Orleans ! Are you bound for New Or 
 leans r 
 
 " Yes, and that s how we happened to be here, 
 and to find this raft. You see, my father, General 
 Elting, you know, is going to Central America to 
 make a survey for the Nicaragua Canal, and Bin- 
 ney and I are to go with him. The party is to 
 sail from New Orleans some time in January, but 
 he had to go to New York first. As there were a 
 lot of instruments and heavy things to be sent to 
 New Orleans, he thought it best to ship them by 
 boat ; and as we wanted to take the river trip, he 
 let us come in charge of them. We knew we 
 should have to transfer from the Ohio River boat 
 at this point, but we didn t know until we got 
 here that we must wait three days for the New 
 Orleans packet. As there wasn t anything else to 
 do, we have put in the time hunting and fishing, 
 and last evening we ran across this abandoned 
 raft about a mile up the Mississippi. We had 
 a time getting it in here, I can tell you. When 
 we did, and reported it to the City Marshal, he 
 showed us a telegram from a Mr. Winn Caspar, 
 
258 Raftmates: 
 
 asking Mm to look out for just such a raft. We 
 knew this must be the one, for we had found 
 this book lying on the table, with the name 
 Winn Caspar written all over the fly-leaf, as 
 though some one had been practising the signa 
 ture. Sure enough, a man who said his name was 
 * Winn Caspar turned up this morning, bringing 
 a friend with him. They told a straight enough 
 story of how their raft had been stolen near St. 
 Louis, and described it perfectly. They even de 
 scribed the interior of this " shanty " and every 
 thing in it, including this identical book, as though 
 they had lived here all their lives. So, of course, 
 both the Marshal and we thought it was all right ; 
 and I don t see even now, if this is your raft, how 
 those fellows knew all about it as they did. The 
 only thing they slipped up on was the broken door, 
 and they owned they couldn t account for that. It 
 seems as if some one must have boarded the 
 raft before we did and broken into the "shanty." 
 The men said tnere wasn t anything missing, 
 though. Perhaps you can tell us what has been 
 stolen." 
 
 u No," replied Billy Brackett, " I can t tell that, 
 but I can tell who broke in that door. I can also 
 relate a tale of adventure and misadventure in con 
 nection with this raft that would excite the envy 
 of any member of the Second Division, including 
 
A Story of ike Great River. 259 
 
 even the Baldheads, and you, who were the most 
 reckless young scapegrace of the lot." 
 
 Whereupon the young engineer told these inter 
 ested listeners the whole history of the Venture 
 from the time the raft was put together down to 
 the present moment. In it he included the What 
 not, Cap n Cod, Sabella, Solon, Keward, and Don 
 Blossom, Sheriff Kiley, the " river-traders," Clod, 
 Aunt Yiney, and, above all, Bim, who barked loud 
 ly, and rushed wildly about the room at this honor 
 able mention of his name. 
 
 When the story was finished, Glen Elting heaved 
 a deep sigh, and said to Winn, " Well, you h(we 
 had a good time. I thought we had about the best 
 times any fellows could have when we crossed the 
 plains with Billy Braekett last year, but it seems to 
 me that you are having just about as much fun 
 right here on this muddy old river as we had out 
 there. I only wish we had a raft." Then turning 
 to Billy Brackett, he asked, " What are you going 
 to do next?" 
 
 " I don t know," was the reply. " What are 
 you going to do ?" 
 
 " I m sure I don t know." 
 
 " Then lend me your ears. You want to get to 
 New Orleans, and so do we." 
 
 " Do we ?" interrupted Winn, in surprise, look 
 ing up from the book of travels on the title-page 
 
260 Eaftonates : A Story of the Great Elver. 
 
 of which his name was written so many times, and 
 which was the very one he had been reading the 
 last evening he had spent on this raft. 
 
 " You do !" exclaimed both Glen and Binney. 
 
 " Certainly," was the calm reply. "It is the 
 only market for timber rafts that I know of 
 south of St. Louis, and as we can t go back, we are 
 bound to go ahead. So, as I was saying when 
 rudely interrupted, both you and we want to go to 
 New Orleans. You have no money real money, 
 I mean with which to get there, and we need at 
 least two extra pair of hands to help us get this 
 raft there. So why not ship your stuff on board 
 here, and help us navigate this craft to our com 
 mon destination ?" 
 
 " Do you truly mean it, Billy Brackett f * 
 
 " I truly mean it. And if you are willing to 
 go as raftmates with us " 
 
 " Are we willing ? Well, I should smile ! Are 
 we willing ? Why, Billy Brackett, we d rather go 
 to New Orleans as raftmates with you and Winn 
 Caspar than to do anything else in the whole 
 world just at present. * Eh, Grip ? " 
 
 " Well, rather !" answered Binney Gibba. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE "RIVER- TRADERS" ATTEMPT TO REGAIN POSSESSION. 
 
 So it was settled that the three who had been 
 campmates together on the plains should now, 
 with Winn Caspar to complete the quartet, be 
 come raftmates on a voyage of nearly a thousand 
 miles down the great river. It is hard to say 
 which of the four was happiest during the busy 
 day that followed the making of this arrangement. 
 Winn was overjoyed at recovering the raft lost 
 through his over-confidence in his own wisdom, 
 and at the prospect of taking a trip so much longer 
 than he had anticipated at the outset. He had also 
 conceived a great fancy for the two manly young 
 fellows whose fortunes had become so strangely 
 connected with those of the Venture, and was glad 
 they were to be his companions on the voyage. 
 
 Billy Brackett was not only rejoiced that he had 
 at length been successful in finding both Winn 
 and the raft, but was delighted to meet again those 
 with whom he had already shared so much of peril 
 and pleasure. That they had again become his 
 mates in such a peculiar manner, and amid such 
 
Eaftmates : 
 
 different scenes, was proof, as he quaintly ex 
 pressed it, that " Truth can give the most ex< 
 pert fiction points, and still beat it at its own 
 game." 
 
 Glen and Binney were raised from a depth of 
 dismay, caused by the loss of their money and 
 the resulting predicament into which they were 
 thrown, to a height of felicity at the prospect of a 
 raft voyage down the Mississippi, under the lead 
 ership of their beloved campmate, Billy Brackett. 
 They also liked Winn ; and, judging from what 
 had already happened to him, regarded him as a 
 boy in whose company a variety of adventures 
 might reasonably be hoped for. 
 
 Owing to their past experience with the "river- 
 traders," Billy Brackett and Winn were somewhat 
 uneasy at the presence of Grimshaw and Plater in 
 town, and their manifest desire to regain posses 
 sion of the raft. They were puzzled by this, and 
 wondered what reason the men could still have 
 for wanting the raft. Certainly their connection 
 with it was now too well known for them to hope to 
 make any further use of it in pursuing their un 
 lawful business. Nor did it seem likely that they 
 would choose it merely as a conveyance down the 
 river. No ; it must be that they had hoped to 
 sell the Venture, and realize a considerable sum 
 by the transaction. This was the conclusion 
 
A. Story of tJie Great River. 
 
 finally reached by our raftmates, though it was not 
 one with which they were entirely satisfied. 
 
 Still, they felt that, as they were now four to two, 
 they might reasonably hope to be left in undis 
 turbed possession of the raft for the future, and so 
 did not allow thought of the " river-traders " to 
 trouble them to any great extent. They decided 
 that two of them should stay constantly on board 
 the raft, at least so long as they remained in that 
 locality, and that Bim should also be added to the 
 protective force. 
 
 To begin with, Binney and Winn remained on 
 guard while Billy Brackett and Glen went into 
 the town to telegraph for Solon, send down the 
 instruments, and make other arrangements for the 
 voyage. It had been decided that as their crew 
 was incomplete without a cook, Solon should be 
 sent for, and that they could not make a start 
 until he arrived, which would probably be early 
 the next morning. 
 
 Winn and Binney found plenty to occupy them 
 during the absence of the others in becoming ac 
 quainted, learning each other s history, and arrang 
 ing the interior of the " shanty." From Binney, 
 Winn learned what a splendid fellow his young 
 uncle was, and how much he was respected as well 
 as admired by all who were so fortunate as to be 
 counted among his friends. "He is a fellow," 
 
Raftmates : 
 
 concluded Binney, " who couldn t do a mean thing 
 if he tried. One thing I like especially about him 
 is that he is just as careful in his attention to trifles, 
 if they come in the line of his duty, as he is to big 
 things, and Billy has already had some pretty im 
 portant positions too, I can tell you. He is full 
 of fun, and was the life and soul of the Second 
 Division all the time they were crossing the plains. 
 Glen knows him better than I do, though, because 
 they were k bunkies 7 together, and from what he 
 has told me I regard myself as mighty lucky to 
 have the chance of taking a trip in his company." 
 
 "He has told me a good deal about you and 
 Glen on that trip," said Winn, " but I don t re 
 member hearing anything about his own advent 
 ures." 
 
 " That s just what makes fellows like him. He 
 is always ready to listen to what they have to say, 
 Dr to tell of anything they have done, if it is worth 
 telling ; but he never puts himself forward as one 
 who knows it all or has done it all and can t be 
 taught anything." 
 
 This conversation set Winn to thinking, with 
 the result that in one instance, at least, he had 
 been too hasty in his conclusions. He had been 
 somewhat ashamed that his uncle should act the 
 part of showman with a river panorama, and had 
 supposed that it was done from a desire to display 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 
 
 his own accomplishments. Now he wondered if, 
 after all, this was not the one delicate and unob 
 trusive way in which Cap n Cod s poor little 
 undertaking could have been saved from a ridicu 
 lous and mortifying failure. He had been in 
 clined to regard his young relative as rather frivo 
 lous ; but perhaps there were depths to Billy 
 Brackett s character that he was not yet wise 
 enough to fathom. He would study it more care 
 fully hereafter, and how doubly thankful he now 
 was that his chance to do so had not been lost 
 with the wreck of the Whatnot. 
 
 Although the interior of the Ventures " shanty " 
 still seemed unfamiliar to Winn, he could no 
 longer doubt that the raft was his father s. In 
 the small room that he was to have occupied he 
 now found most of his own possessions just where 
 he had left them. Among the things that he 
 was particularly glad thus to find were several 
 changes of clothing, of which he stood greatly in 
 need. 
 
 The " shanty " was in great disorder ; but the 
 two boys worked so faithfully at sweeping, clean 
 ing, and putting things to rights, that by the time 
 the others returned with a dray-load of freight 
 the interior was thoroughly clean and inviting. 
 The afternoon was spent in laying in a store of 
 provisions for the voyage, repairing the splintered 
 
266 Raftmates: 
 
 door, and mending one of the sweeps, which was 
 on the point of breaking. 
 
 By sunset everything was in readiness for a 
 start, and all hands were gathered about the gallej 
 stove, each superintending the cooking of his spe 
 cialty for supper. Billy Brackett could make grid 
 dle-cakes, or " flip-flaps," as he called them. He 
 fried them in an iron spider, and the deftness with 
 which he turned them, by tossing them in the air, 
 so excited the admiration of his raftmates that 
 they immediately wished to engage him as regular 
 cook for the trip. 
 
 " This isn t a circumstance to what I can do in 
 the culinary line," remarked Billy Brackett, mod 
 estly. "To know me at my best, you ought r<> be 
 around when I make biscuit. My heavy biscuit 
 are simply monuments of the baker s art. They are 
 warranted to withstand any climate, and defy the 
 ravaging tooth of time. They can turn the edge 
 of sarcasm, and have that quality of mercy which 
 endureth forever. A quartz-crusher turns pale at 
 sight of them, and they supply a permanent filling 
 for aching voids or long-felt wants. In fact, gen 
 tlemen, it is universally acknowledged that my 
 biscuit can t be beat." 
 
 "Neither can a bad egg," said Glen, who was 
 trying to make an omelet. 
 
 " Let us defer the biscuit for this time, and have 
 
A Story of the Great River. 267 
 
 a smoking dish of corn-meal mush instead," sug 
 gested Winn. " It is one of the hardest things in 
 the world to cook, but I know the trick to perfec 
 tion." 
 
 "Mush, mush, mush, tooral-i-addy," sang Bin- 
 ney. At that moment Bim began to growl, and 
 to sniff at the bottom of the door. They opened 
 it and looked out. No one was there, nor did they 
 hear a sound. Darkness had already set in, and 
 they could see nothing. Bim ran to the edge of 
 the raft, barked once or twice, and then returned 
 to his place near the stove. 
 
 "It must have been your singing that excited 
 him, Grip," remarked Billy Brackett. " He gen 
 erally acts that way when a person sings, and I 
 have heretofore attributed it to envy, though I 
 don t see how it could have been in this case." 
 
 After supper Billy Brackett went into town to 
 call on the telegraph operator, with whom he had 
 established friendly relations, and to receive some 
 despatches that he was expecting. He had not 
 been gone long before Bim, who had been left be 
 hind, again began to show signs of uneasiness, and 
 intimate a de&ire to be let out. 
 
 Again the door was opened for him, and again 
 he rushed out into the darkness. This time re 
 treating footsteps and the rustling of bushes on 
 the bank were distinctly heard. With a low 
 
268 Rafimates: A Story of ike Or eat River. 
 
 growl Bim sprang ashore and disappeared. The 
 next instant the boys saw a flash of lantern-light a 
 few rods below the raft, heard a smothered yelp, 
 the sounds of a confused struggle, and a moment 
 later a loud splash in the water. Then all was 
 again buried in darkness and silence. 
 
 " Something has happened to Bim !" exclaimed 
 Winn, in a low but excited tone, " and I am going 
 to find out what it is." With this the boy leaped 
 ashore, and hurried in the direction from which 
 the sounds had come. 
 
 "It s a mighty foolish thing to do, but you 
 sha n t go alone," said Glen Elting, quietly, as he 
 started after Winn, adding, as he left the raft, 
 " You stay behind and stand guard, Binney." 
 
 The boy, thus suddenly left alone, stood guard 
 for about fifteen seconds, when all at once two 
 dark figures sprang aboard the raft from the bank, 
 and he had barely time to utter a single cry of 
 warning before he was engaged in a furious strug 
 gle with one of them, who had seized him from 
 behind. 
 
 " Drop him overboard !" 
 
 Although the command was given in a low tone, 
 Binney heard and understood it. Then the strong 
 arms in which he was struggling lifted him as 
 they would a child, and bore him towards the edge 
 of the raft. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 WHERE IS BIM? 
 
 BILLY BBACKETT was in a particularly content 
 ed frame of mind, and whistled softly to himself 
 as he tramped through the muddy streets of one 
 of the muddiest cities in the United States, tow 
 ards the telegraph office. He was well satisfied 
 with the results of his expedition thus far, and 
 with its prospects of a successful termination. He 
 did not notice the curious looks with which sev 
 eral persons regarded him as the bright light from 
 a store window fell on his face, nor would he have 
 cared if he had. His conscience was clear, and hc 
 had nothing to fear from observation, curious 01 
 otherwise. 
 
 As he entered the telegraph office, the operator 
 glanced up with a nod of recognition. A few 
 seconds later, having finished sending the despatch 
 with which he had been busy, he turned his key 
 over to an assistant and said, 
 
 " Will you step this way a moment, sir ? I 
 wish to speak to you in private." With this 
 he led the way into a room behind the office, 
 
270 Raftmates : 
 
 where, after the other had entered, he closed the 
 door. 
 
 "What s up?" asked the young engineer, won 
 dering at these proceedings. 
 
 "Have you or any of your companions any 
 counterfeit money in your possession ?" asked the 
 operator, abruptly. 
 
 "No that is, yes. One of my friends has 
 quite a lot of it that was passed on him for gen 
 uine this morning, and I have a few samples for 
 purposes of comparison." 
 
 "But you haven t passed, or tried to pass, any of 
 it in this place 2" 
 
 " Certainly not ! Why do yon ask such a ques 
 tion " 
 
 " Because I have taken a liking to you. Have 
 not you in your possession a note of identification 
 from a certain Iowa Sheriff ?" 
 
 " Yes; I have such a note from a Sheriff named 
 Riley, of Dubuque ; but how did you know any 
 thing about it ?" asked Billy Brackett, greatly sur 
 prised. 
 
 " In a very simple way. Sheriff Riley happens to 
 be my brother, and he wrote to me all about your 
 little affair up the river. So I know you to be 
 an honest man, and want to give you a warning. 
 You may be very sure, however, that I should 
 not do so were I not confident of your innocence." 
 
A Story of tJie Great Bw&r. 271 
 
 " Innocence of what ?" 
 
 " Passing counterfeit money. A good bit of it 
 has suddenly appeared in circulation here, and 
 your raft has been identified by some men from 
 up-river as one on which suspicion has already fall 
 en in connection with a similar state of affairs 
 elsewhere. You have made a good many purchases 
 to-day, and at least one bad bill has been traced 
 directly to you. Of course you may have received 
 it in change, and passed it again unknowingly. I 
 believe that is how it happened. If I did not, 
 I should hold my tongue and let you suffer the 
 consequences. In addition to this, all sorts of 
 queer stories regarding you have been circulated 
 about town to-day, and such a feeling has been 
 aroused against you that a number of the worst 
 characters in the place have determined to pay 
 your raft a visit to-night. I don t know what 
 they intend doing, nor do I think they know 
 themselves, but I am certain if they find you the 
 result will be most unpleasant. They are to be 
 led by a couple of strangers, who have been se 
 cretly watching you all day. These men claim to 
 be river-traders, who have suffered serious losses 
 through you, including that of the raft now in 
 your possession, which, they say, was stolen from 
 them. I can t tell you how I gained all this in 
 formation, but it is at your disposal. If I were in 
 
BaftonaUs: 
 
 your place, I would take advantage of the dark 
 ness to drop down the river, and I wouldn t lose 
 any time about it either." 
 
 " You advise me to run away like a coward, in 
 stead of remaining to defend myself against these 
 abominable and absolutely unfounded charges !" 
 exclaimed Billy Brackett, indignantly. " I shall do 
 nothing of the kind." 
 
 " Not run away ; simply continue your voyage 
 before it is unpleasantly interrupted," returned the 
 other, with a smile. " If you remain until morn 
 ing, your raft, with its contents, will certainly be 
 destroyed by an unreasoning mob, at whose hands 
 you and your companions may suffer bodily injury. 
 In this case action would come first and inquiry 
 afterwards. I am convinced you could easily 
 prove your innocence, but doubt if you could ob 
 tain any redress for the losses you would have suf 
 fered in the mean time. Now I must get back to 
 my desk. You will of course act as you think 
 best, but I sincerely hope that you will accept my 
 advice, and decide that an honorable retreat is bet 
 ter than a lost battle." 
 
 " But there is Solon, the man whom I tele 
 graphed to join us here. I don t expect him be 
 fore morning." 
 
 " Why, he is here already ! Haven t you met 
 him ? He arrived on the evening train, and came 
 
^L Story of the Great River. 273 
 
 in here to inquire where you could be found. I 
 gave him directions, and started him off not fifteen 
 minutes ago." 
 
 " I don t see how he managed it," said Billy 
 Brackett, who had been thinking rapidly while the 
 other spoke ; " but if he is already on board there 
 is no reason why our departure should be delayed. 
 Therefore I am almost inclined to accept your ad 
 vice, for which, as well as for your timely warning, 
 I am sincerely grateful. I will, at any rate, get 
 back to the raft at once." 
 
 With this the young man shook hands with the 
 operator, and left the office. 
 
 " There !" exclaimed the other, looking after 
 him with a relieved sigh ; " I believe I have done 
 that young fellow a good turn. At the same time 
 I have given myself a chance to capture the thou 
 sand-dollar reward that Ned wrote about, and 
 which I was afraid this chap was after for him 
 self." 
 
 As for Billy Brackett, the more he reflected upon 
 the situation, as he hastened towards the place 
 where the raft was moored, the more puzzled he 
 became as to what course he ought to pursue. He 
 now had not only Winn, the raft, and himself to 
 consider, but Glen and Binney, and the valuable 
 instruments belonging to General Elting. Cer 
 tainly it would not do to allow these to fall into 
 
$74 Rafftnate*: 
 
 the hands of an excited and irresponsible inob. 
 Still, the thought of running away was hateful. 
 
 As he neared the raft an undefined apprehension 
 caused him to quicken his steps ; and at the sound 
 of Binney Gibbs s shout of warning, he broke into 
 a run. Then he heard another shout of " Hoi on, 
 Marse Winn ! I comin !" and the noise of a 
 struggle. In another moment he was in the thick 
 of it. 
 
 Solon had reached the raft just in time to save 
 Binney, who he thought was Winn, from being 
 dropped overboard by Plater, the " river-trader." 
 The old negro attacked the big man so furiously 
 with tooth and nail that the latter gave the lad in 
 his arms a fling to one side, sending him crashing 
 with stunning force against the " shanty," and de 
 voted his entire attention to this new assailant. 
 He had just stretched Solon on the deck with a 
 vicious blow of his powerful fist, when Billy Brack- 
 ett appeared and sprang eagerly into the fray. 
 Even Plater s brute strength was no match for the 
 young engineer s science, and the latter would have 
 gained a speedy victory, had not Grimshaw, who 
 had been engaged in casting off the lines that held 
 the raft to the bank, come to his partner s assist 
 ance. 
 
 Now, with such odds against him, Billy Brackett 
 tfas slowly but surely forced backward towards 
 
A Stvry of the Great River. 275 
 
 the edge of the raft. In another moment he 
 would have been in the river, when all at once 
 two dripping figures emerged from it, scrambled 
 aboard, and with a yell like a war-whoop, ranged 
 themselves on the weaker side. A few well- 
 planted blows, a determined rush, and the strug 
 gle for the possession of the raft was ended. The 
 fighting ardor of Messrs. Plater and Grimshaw was 
 being rapidly cooled in the icy waters through 
 which they found themselves swimming towards 
 the shore. At the same time the Venture was 
 gaining speed with each moment, as, borne on by 
 the resistless current, it drifted out over the min 
 gling floods of the Ohio arid Mississippi. Billy 
 Brackett, still panting from his exertions, was 
 bending over Binney Gibbs, who was struggling 
 back to consciousness. Solon was sitting up, ten 
 derly feeling of his swollen features, and declar 
 ing, " Dat ar man hab a fis lak de hin laig ob a 
 mewel." 
 
 Glen and Winn had manned one of the sweeps, 
 and were trying to get the raft properly headed 
 with the current. Thus the voyage was really 
 begun, and the young engineer, who hated to run 
 away, was spared the necessity of making a deci 
 sion. It was a start, too, with all hands on board. 
 To be sure, two of them were battered and bruised, 
 while two more were soaked to the skin but all 
 
276 Baftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 were there, and none was greatly the worse fof 
 the recent exciting experience. 
 
 Suddenly Billy Brackett spoke up and asked : 
 " But where is Bim ? Is it possible that we have 
 left him behind ?" 
 
 For a moment no one answered. Then Winn 
 said : " That s what Glen and I were ashore for. 
 We are afraid he is lost." 
 
 "Lost! Bim wouldn t get lost! He has too 
 much sense." 
 
 "I expect he is this time, though," said Glen. 
 " and we don t believe he will ever be found again, 
 either." Then he told of Bim s rushing ashore, 
 the smothered yelp, the loud splash that followed, 
 and of their unsuccessful search for him in the 
 darkness. "So it looks as though the poor dog 
 were done for," concluded Glen, " and I expect it 
 was by a trick of those same fellows who tried to 
 capture the raft." 
 
 Billy Brackett listened closely, without a word, 
 and when he had heard all there was to tell, 
 he turned abruptly away and walked into the 
 "shanty," muttering through his clinched teeth, 
 " The scoundrels." 
 
 It certainly would have gone hard with the 
 " river-traders " could the stalwart young engineer 
 have laid hands on them at that moment. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 A BLAZE ON THE RIVER 
 
 As Messrs. Plater and Grimshaw will not appear 
 again in this story, it may be as well to dismiss 
 them at once. The well-conceived and desperate 
 effort to gain possession of the raft just de 
 scribed was their last attempt in that direction. 
 They had watched Billy Brackett leave it, had en 
 ticed the ever-faithful Bim from it, and when, 
 from a place of concealment, they heard two of 
 its remaining defenders go ashore in search of the 
 brave dog, their satisfaction was complete. Now 
 they were sure of the prize for which they were 
 willing to risk so much. Stealing silently to the 
 raft without attracting Binny Gibbs s attention, 
 they leaped aboard, proceeded to dispose of him, 
 and at the same time to set the Venture adrift. 
 Had not Binney s shout guided Solon to the scene, 
 success would have crowned their efforts. 
 
 The old negro was not a fighter by nature, but 
 in defence of those he loved he could be bold as a 
 lion. Consequently he rushed to the rescue of the 
 boy whom he supposed was Winn Caspar with- 
 
278 Raftmate*: 
 
 out hesitation, and careless of the odds against 
 him. His coming, followed so quickly by that of 
 Billy Brackett and the arrival of the two boys, 
 turned the tide of battle. Glen and Winn were 
 compelled to plunge overboard and swim for the 
 raft, as it was already a rod or so from shore 
 when they regained the place where it had been 
 tied. 
 
 The "river-traders" were unwillingly compelled 
 to take the same plunge a moment later, and as 
 they swam towards the shore, which, fortunately 
 for them, was still near at hand, their hearts were 
 filled with bitterness at their defeat, while plans for 
 future vengeance were already forming in their 
 minds. But these were never carried out, for the 
 reason that, as they were making their dripping way 
 into town, they came across the mob bent on a deed 
 of destruction that they themselves had instigated. 
 With it was Joe Kiley, the operator, and as these 
 were the very men he was most desirous of meet 
 ing just then, he persuaded his associates to devote 
 a few minutes of attention to them. 
 
 As a result of this interview with one who knew 
 so much about them and their business, their 
 career as " river-traders ended then and there. A 
 few days later they left Cairo in company with 
 Sheriff Kiley, of Dubuque, who had come down 
 the river on purpose to escort them north. Why 
 
A Story of the Great River. 279 
 
 they had been so anxious to recover possession of 
 the Venture was for a long time an unsolved puz 
 zle to the crew of that interesting raft. That the 
 reason was finally explained will be made as clear 
 to us as it was to our raftmates before the end of 
 this story of their unique voyage down the great 
 river. When it is, we shall probably wonder, as 
 they did, that so simple a solution of the mystery 
 had not occurred to us before. 
 
 In the mean time the raft, once more in full pos 
 session of its rightful crew, is gliding swiftly with 
 the mighty current through the starlit darkness. 
 Billy Brackett, with a heart full of sorrow over 
 the loss of his four-footed but dearly loved com 
 panion, is on watch. The lantern, lighted and run 
 to the top of the flag-staff, sends forth a clear beam 
 of warning to all steamboats. In the "shanty," 
 which looks very bright and cosey in comparison 
 with the outside darkness, Binney Gibbs is lying 
 comfortably in one of the bunks, Solon is making 
 himself acquainted with the arrangements of his 
 new galley, and the other two are changing their 
 wet clothing, while carrying on an animated con 
 versation regarding the stirring events just re 
 corded. 
 
 " How jolly this would all be if it wasn t for 
 poor Billy s melancholy over the loss of his dog," 
 remarked Glen El ting, as he turned the steaming 
 
280 Raftmates : 
 
 garments hanging in front of the galley stove, 
 " It was a splendid start, wasn t it Grip ?" 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so," answered Binney, a little 
 doubtfully ;" though I don t believe it would seem 
 quite so fine to you if you ached all over as I 
 do." 
 
 " Perhaps not, old man. But you ll be all right 
 again to-morrow, after a good night in dream- 
 bags ;" and anyway, you must admit that this beats 
 steamboating all to nothing. Just think, if we 
 hadn t been lucky enough to fall in with this 
 blessed raft, and Billy and Winn, and all the rest, 
 we should at this very moment be just ordinary 
 ten-o clock-at-night passengers, shivering on the 
 Cairo wharf-boat, and waiting for the New Orleans 
 packet to come along. She s due there some time 
 this evening, you know." 
 
 " Yes ; and instead of that, here I am " 
 
 "Here you are," interrupted Glen, seeing that 
 his friend was about to utter a complaint ; " and 
 thankful you ought to be to find yourself here, too. 
 Why, we ll be as merry as this muddy old river is 
 long, as soon as Billy ceases to mourn for his dog. 
 I m a little surprised that he should take it so much 
 to heart, though. It isn t like Billy B. to be cast 
 down over trifles." 
 
 " Trifles !" cried Winn. " When you call dear 
 old Bim a trifle, you are making one of the big 
 
A Story of the Great River. 81 
 
 mistakes of your life, and you wouldn t do it 
 either if you had known him as well as I did. 
 There never was another dog like him for wisdom 
 and gentleness and pluck and well, and every 
 thing that makes a dog lovely. Why, that Bim 
 would reason his way out of scrapes that would 
 stump a man, and the word fear was never 
 printed in his dictionary. Somehow I can t help 
 thinking that he ll turn up all right, bright and 
 smiling, yet." 
 
 " I don t see how," said Glen. 
 
 " Neither can I, and I don t suppose I could 
 if I were in his place; but unless Bim is un 
 commonly dead, I ll guarantee that he ll come 
 to life again somehow and somewhere. In fact, 
 I shouldn t be one bit surprised to see him 
 aboard this very raft again before our voyage is 
 ended." 
 
 " I must confess that I should," said Glen. 
 
 " That s because you don t know him," respond 
 ed Winn. "Isn t it, Solon?" 
 
 " I spec s hit must be, Marse Winn," answered 
 the old negro. 
 
 " And wasn t he the very wisest dog you ever 
 knew i" 
 
 " Yes, sah, he suttinly was, all ceptin one, an 
 hit war a yallar coon dawg wha I uster own 
 down in ole Lou siana. I spec s he war jes a 
 
282 Raftmates : 
 
 teenty mite more knowin dan eben Marse Brack s 
 Bim dawg. He name war Bijah." 
 
 "How did he ever prove his wisdom?" asked 
 Winn, incredulously. 
 
 " How him provin it!" exclaimed the old negro, 
 warming to his subject. "Why, sah, him provin 
 it ebbery day ob he life more ways n one." 
 
 " Well, give us an example, if you can remember 
 one." 
 
 u Yes, sah, I kin. An I tell you-all one ob de 
 berry simples t ings what dat ar Bijah ebber done. 
 He war jest a ornery, stumpy -tail, coon dawg, 
 Bijah war, an him know he warn t nuffin else. 
 Dat s why he won t go fer nuffin ceptin coons 
 no rabbits, ner possum, ner fox, ner b ar, ner nuffin 
 jes coons. But coons ! Don talk, gen l wm / 
 I reckin dat ar Bijah done know ebbery coon in 
 twenty mile ob de Moss Back plantaslmn. An he 
 knowed some fer coons wha didn low dey war 
 coons no way." 
 
 " What do you mean by that ?" asked Winn. 
 
 " Dat s wha I comin to, Marse Winn, but yo 
 mus n hurry de ole man. One day I takin de ole 
 kyart inter town wif a load er wood, an Bijah he 
 gwine erlong. When we comin to der place whar 
 de wood kyarts stops, I onyoked, an Bijah he 
 lyin , sleepy like, onder de kyart. I passin de 
 time er day long some udder cullud fellers, an 
 
A Story of the Great River. 283 
 
 tellin wha kind ob a coon dawg Bijah war, an 
 how he ain t know nuffin no way ceptin coons. 
 Suddint I see dat ar dawg kin er wink he eye, an 
 raise up an sniff de yair, an den lite out licketty 
 cut down erlong. Dey ain t nuffin on de road 
 ceptin jes a cullud gal, an she a-turnin inter de 
 sto . 
 
 "Dem fellers laff fit to bus deirselfs, an say, 
 Hi dar ! wha dat fine coon dawg gwine fer 
 now ? 
 
 " I say, Him gwine fer a coon, gen l men, he 
 suttinly am. Yo see, I jes nacherly bleeged ter 
 say so. Same time, I kin er jubious. 
 
 " Afo we comin ter de sto , I heah ole Bijah 
 gibbin tongue lak mad, an I say, Him treed um 
 gen l men ! him treed um fer sho . But when we 
 comin dar, an look in der do , I feelin mighty 
 sick. Dat ar cullud gal she up in er cheer er-shyin 
 she umbrel at Bijah, an him jes a dancin roun , 
 an er-yelpin . 
 
 " Well, ef dem fellers ain t laff ! Dey jes roll 
 deirselfs in de dus . 
 
 " * Whar yo coon dawg now ? Whar yo coon 
 dawg ? dey axin ; but I kep on say in nuffin. I 
 know dat gal, an when I hit Bijah er clip to stop 
 he noise, I say, berry polite, Mawnin , Lize. Yo 
 got any coon bout yo pusson ? 
 
 " Den she say, snappylike, * How I gwine get 
 
884 Raftmatea: 
 
 coon, yo fool nigger! No, sab, I ain t got no 
 coon ceptin my ole man wha I marry yistiddy^ 
 he name Coon? " 
 
 The shout of laughter that greeted this story 
 was interrupted by the appearance of Billy Brack- 
 ett at the door. 
 
 " Come out here, boys !" he cried. " There s a 
 steamboat on fire and coming down the river !" 
 
 This startling announcement emptied the " shan 
 ty" in a hurry. Even Binney Gibbs forgot his 
 aches and joined his mates outside. 
 
 There was no doubt as to the meaning of the 
 column of flame that turned the darkness into day 
 behind them. It was so near that they could hear 
 its ominous roar, while the black forest walls on 
 either side of the river were bathed in a crimson 
 glow from its baleful light. A vast cloud of 
 smoke, through which shot millions of sparks, 
 trailed and eddied above it, while, with the hoarse 
 voice of escaping steam, the blazing craft sounded 
 its own death-note. 
 
 As the monster came tearing down the channel 
 of crimson and gold that opened and ever widened 
 before it, our raftmates were fascinated by the 
 sight of its sublime but awful approach. They 
 stood motionless and speechless until roused to a 
 sudden activity by Billy Brackett s shout of " Man 
 the sweeps, fellows! She is unmanageable, and 
 
JKE YOl N<! TH1EUS THE HOYS TL(UJEl) AT TIIK HKAVY SWEEPS. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 
 
 headed for us as straight as an arrow. If we can t 
 get out of the way she ll be on top of us inside of 
 two minutes more!" 
 
 Like young tigers the boys tugged at the heavy 
 sweeps ; but they might as well have tried to ex 
 tinguish the floating volcano that threatened them 
 with destruction as to remove that mass of timber 
 beyond reach of danger within the time allowed 
 them. The task was an impossible one ; and as 
 they realized this fact, the crew of the Venture 
 prepared to launch their skiff, abandon the raft, 
 and row for their lives. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 BIM S HEROISM. 
 
 As the burning steamboat swept down towards 
 the low -lying raft the destruction of the latter 
 appeared so certain that its crew abandoned all hope 
 of saving it ; and, taking to their skiff, sought by 
 its means to escape the threatened danger. It was 
 a forlorn hope, and promised but little. Even with 
 Billy Brackett s strong arms tugging at its oars, 
 the heavily laden skiff seemed to move so slowly, 
 that but for the ever -widening space between 
 them and the raft they would have deemed it at a 
 stand-still. They gazed in silence and with fasci 
 nated eyes at the on-coming terror. At length, 
 with a sigh of thankfulness, they saw that they 
 were beyond its track, and Billy Brackett s labors 
 were somewhat relaxed. 
 
 Suddenly, as though endowed with a fiendish 
 intelligence, the blazing fabric took a sheer to port, 
 and headed for the skiff. A hoarse cry broke from 
 the old negro, whose face was ashen gray with 
 fright. It was echoed by Binney Gibbs. The 
 others kept silence, but their faces were bloodless. 
 
Haft/mates : A Stot^y of the Great River. 287 
 
 By a mighty effort Billy Brackett spun the skiff 
 around, and with the energy of despair pulled 
 back towards the raft. The stout oars bent like 
 whips. If one of them had given way nothing 
 could have saved our raftmates from destruction. 
 Had the tough blades been of other than home 
 make, and fashioned from the best product of the 
 Caspar Mill, they must have yielded. With each 
 stroke Billy Brackett rose slightly from his seat. 
 Arms, body, and legs made splendid response to 
 the demands of the invincible will. Years of care 
 ful training and right living were concentrated 
 into that supreme moment. Another might have 
 sought personal safety by plunging overboard and 
 diving deep into the river. Glen and Winn might 
 have followed such an example. Binney and So 
 lon, being unable to swim, could not. But Billy 
 Brackett was too true an American to consider 
 such a thing for an instant. Generations of Yan 
 kee ancestors had taught him never to desert a 
 friend nor yield to a foe ; never to court a danger 
 nor to fear one ; to fight in a righteous cause witk 
 his latest breath ; to snatch victory from defeat. 
 
 As the skiff dashed alongside the Venture the 
 vast, glowing, seething mass of flame, smoke, and 
 crashing timbers swept by so close that the raft- 
 mates were obliged to seek a shelter in the cool 
 waters from its deadly heat. Clinging to the edge 
 
888 Raftmate*: 
 
 of the raft, with their bodies entirely submerged, 
 they gazed breathlessly and with blinded eyes at 
 the grandest and most awful sight to be seen on the 
 Mississippi. It was a huge lower-river packet, and 
 was completely enveloped in roaring flames that 
 poured from every opening, and streamed furiously 
 from the tall chimneys the trailing banners of the 
 fire-fiend. The boat was under a full head of steam, 
 her machinery was still intact, and the great wheels, 
 churning the glowing waters into a crimson foam, 
 forced her ahead with the speed of a locomotive. 
 The back draught thus caused kept the forward 
 end of her lower deck free from flame. Here, as 
 she rushed past, the boys caught a glimpse of the 
 only sign of life they could discover aboard the ill- 
 fated packet. It was a dog leaping from side to 
 side, and barking furiously. 
 
 They had hardly noted his presence when a cu 
 rious thing happened. There came an explosion 
 of steam, a crash, and the starboard wheel dropped 
 from its shaft. Thus crippled, the blazing craft 
 made a grand sweep of half a circle in front of the 
 raft. Then, as the other wheel also became dis 
 abled and ceased its mad churnings, the boat lay 
 with her head up-stream, drifting helplessly with 
 the current. The packet was not more than a 
 couple of hundred feet from the raft when its 
 wild progress was thus checked, and now the bark- 
 
A Story of the Great River. 289 
 
 of the dog, that had already attracted the boy s 
 attention, were heard more plainly than before. 
 
 All at once Billy Brackett, who had regained the 
 wave- washed deck of the raft, called out, " It s Bim! 
 I know his voice !" 
 
 With this he again sprang into the skiff, with 
 the evident intention of attempting to rescue his 
 four-footed comrade. Winn Caspar was just in 
 time to scramble in over the stern as the skiff shot 
 away. " I may be of some help," he said. 
 
 As they neared the burning boat, they saw that 
 the dog was indeed Bim. He answered their calls 
 with frantic barks of joy, but refused to leap into 
 the skiff or into the water, as they urged him to. 
 
 He would run back out of their sight instead, 
 and then reappear, barking frantically all the while. 
 Once he seemed to be dragging something, and try 
 ing to hold it up for their inspection. 
 
 u The dear old dog has some good reason for act 
 ing in that way," said Billy Brackett, " and I must 
 go to him." 
 
 Winn had not the heart to remonstrate against 
 an attempt to aid Bim, even though its extreme 
 danger was obvious. The blazing hull, from which 
 most of the upper works were now burned away, 
 was liable to plunge to the bottom at any moment, 
 and the boy shuddered at the thought of being en 
 gulfed in the seething whirlpool which would 
 
290 Raftmudes: 
 
 thus be created. He involuntarily cringed, too, at 
 the thought of the red-hot boilers ready to burst 
 and deluge all surrounding objects with scalding 
 steam and hissing water. Still, he would not have 
 spoken a single word to deter Billy Brackett from 
 his daring project even had he known it would be 
 heeded. 
 
 While these thoughts flashed through Winn s 
 mind, his companion was clambering up over the 
 low guards, and Bim s joyful welcome of his mas 
 ter was pitiful in its extravagance. The dog seemed 
 to say, " I knew you would come if I only waited 
 patiently and barked loud enough. Now you see 
 why I couldn t leave." 
 
 The object to which Bim thus directed attention, 
 as plainly as though possessed of speech, was a 
 little curly-haired puppy, a Gordon setter, so young 
 that its eyes were not yet opened. 
 
 Billy Brackett picked it up and dropped it over 
 the side into "Winn s arms. Then he tried to do 
 the same by Bim ; but, with a loud bark, the nimble 
 dog eluded his grasp, and dashed away into the 
 thick of the smoke. Tongues of flame were lick 
 ing their cruel way through it, and as Bim emerged, 
 his hair was scorched in yellow patches. He 
 dragged out a dead puppy, laid it at his master s 
 feet, and before he could be restrained had once 
 aore dashed back into the stifling smoke. Again 
 
A Story of the Great River. 
 
 he appeared, this time weak and staggering, every 
 trace of his white coat gone. He was singed and 
 blackened beyond recognition ; but he was a four- 
 footed hero, who had nobly performed a self-im 
 posed duty. As he feebly dragged another little 
 dead puppy to his master s feet, Billy Brackett 
 seized the brave dog in his arms, and sprang over 
 the side of the doomed steamboat into the waiting 
 skiff. Tears stood in the young man s eyes as the 
 suffering creature licked his face, and he exclaimed, 
 "I tell you what, Winn Capar, if this blessed dog 
 isn t possessed of a soul, then I m not, that s all !" 
 
 Meanwhile Winn was pulling the skiff swiftly 
 beyond reach of danger. It was none too soon ; 
 for before they reached the raft, the glowing mass 
 behind them reared itself on end as though mak 
 ing a frantic effort to escape its fate. Then, with 
 a hissing plunge, it disappeared beneath the turbid 
 flood of the great river. A second later there 
 came a muffled explosion, and a column of water, 
 capped by a cloud of steam, shot upward. At 
 the same time the scene was shrouded in a dark 
 ness made absolute by the sudden extinguishing of 
 the fierce light, while the silence that immediately 
 succeeded the recent uproar seemed unbroken. 
 
 Then the momentary hush was invaded by the 
 sound of many voices, some of which were ut 
 tering groans and cries of pain. A score of un~ 
 
892 Raflmates: 
 
 fortnnates from the burned packet, who had been 
 driven by the flames to the extreme after-end of 
 the boat, where they were hidden from the view of 
 those on the raft, had leaped into the water as they 
 were swept past, and managed to reach it while 
 Billy Brackett and Winn were away. 
 
 Now, by means of the skiff, others whose cries 
 for help located them in the darkness were picked 
 up. Many persons had escaped soon after the 
 breaking out of the fire by means of the small 
 boats and life-raft carried by the packet; while 
 still others, comprising nearly half the ship s com 
 pany, were lost. It was one the most terrible of 
 the many similar disasters recorded in the history 
 of steamboating on the Mississippi; and to this 
 day the burning of the Lytle is a favorite theme of 
 conversation among old river men. 
 
 When Glen Elting learned the name of the ill- 
 fated craft, he started and turned pale. "The 
 very packet for which we were waiting !" he cried, 
 with bated breath. "Oh, Binney, how many things 
 we have to be thankful for ! n 
 
 " Indeed we have," answered the boy ; " and not 
 the least of them is that we are in a position to 
 help these poor people, who have been overtaken 
 by the misfortune that was reaching out for us." 
 
 These two were tearing sheets into bandage 
 strips, and dressing wounds with the salve and 
 
A Story of the Great River. 29$ 
 
 ointments found in Major Caspar s medicine chest. 
 Solon was providing a plentiful supply of hot- 
 water over a roaring fire in the galley stove, and 
 bustling about among the forlorn assembly, that, 
 drenched and shivering, had been so suddenly in 
 trusted to his kindly care. Billy Brackett and 
 Winn rowed in every direction about the raft so 
 long as there was the slightest hope of picking up 
 a struggling swimmer. 
 
 Their last rescue was that of a man clinging to a 
 state-room door, and so benumbed with the chill of 
 the water that in a few moments more his hold 
 must have relaxed. Beside him swam a dog, also 
 nearly exhausted. 
 
 When the man was carried into the " shanty," 
 the dog followed him, and was there seen to be of 
 the same markings and breed as the puppy saved 
 by Bim. Noting this, Winn hunted it up and 
 brought it to her. It was hers, and no human 
 mother could have shown more extravagant joy 
 than did this dog mother at so unexpectedly find 
 ing one of her lost babies. She actually cried with 
 happiness, and fondled her little one until it pro 
 tested with all the strength of its feeble voice. 
 Then she lay down with the>puppy cuddled close 
 to her, and one paw thrown protectingly across it, 
 the picture of perfect content. 
 
 Bim had been almost as excited as she, and in 
 
994 Raftmates: A Story of the Great Ewer. 
 
 spite of his burns, had circled about the two, and 
 barked until the puppy persuaded its mother to be 
 quiet. Then Biin and she lay down, nose to nose, 
 and while the former told his friend how he had 
 found her deserted babies on the boat and had de 
 termined to save them, and how his own dear mas 
 ter had come in answer to his barks for assistance, 
 she told him how she had been in the after-part 
 of the boat getting her supper when the flames 
 broke out, and had gone nearly crazy at finding 
 herself separated from her little ones. She assured 
 him she would have gone through fire and water 
 to reach them had not her master thrown her 
 overboard, and immediately afterwards jumped 
 into the river himself. Then she believed that all 
 was lost, for in her distress of mind she had en 
 tirely forgotten her brave friend Bim. If she had 
 only remembered him, she would have been quite 
 at ease, knowing, of course, that he would find 
 some way of saving at least one of her puppies, 
 which, under the circumstances, was all that could 
 be expected. 
 
 At which Bim jumped up and barked for pure 
 happiness, until his master said, " That will do, 
 Bim, for the present." 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE MASTER OP MOSS BANK. 
 
 THE Gordon setter s name was Nanita, while 
 that of her master was Mr. Guy Manton, of New 
 York. Within a short time after the final plunge 
 of the burned packet, several steamboats, attracted 
 by the blaze, reached the raft, and offered to carry 
 the suvivors of the disaster to the nearest town. 
 This offer was accepted by all except Mr. Manton, 
 who asked, as a favor, that he and his dogs might 
 be allowed to remain on board the Venture, at least 
 until morning. Of course the raftmates willingly 
 consented to this, for Mr. Manton was so grateful 
 to them, besides proving such an agreeable com 
 panion, that they could not help but like him. 
 
 From him they learned how Bim happened to 
 be on board the ill-fated steamboat, a situation over 
 which they had all puzzled, but concerning which 
 they had heretofore found no opportunity of in 
 quiring. According to Mr. Manton s story, he 
 was on his way to a plantation on the Mississippi, 
 in Louisiana, which he had recently purchased, but 
 had not yet seen. 
 
96 Raftmates : 
 
 Wishing to learn something of the great river 
 on a bank of which his property lay, he had come 
 by way of St. Louis, and there boarded the fine 
 New Orleans packet Lytle. He had brought with 
 him a supply of machinery, provisions, and tools 
 for the plantation, all of which were now either 
 consumed by fire or lay at the bottom of the river. 
 He had also brought his favorite setter Nanita 
 and her litter of three young puppies, which he 
 had proposed to establish at his new winter home. 
 
 During the stop of the packet at Cairo he had 
 taken Nanita ashore for a run. On their way back 
 to the boat he discovered that she was not follow 
 ing him, and anxiously retracing his steps a short 
 distance, found her in company with a white bull 
 dog, to whom she was evidently communicating 
 some matter of great interest. 
 
 Mr. Manton saw that the strange dog was a val 
 uable one, and when it showed an inclination to 
 follow them, tried to persuade it to return to its 
 home, which he supposed was somewhere in the 
 town. As the dog disappeared, he thought he had 
 succeeded, and was afterwards surprised to find it 
 on the boat, in company with Naoita and her little 
 ones. Believing, of course, that the bull -dog s 
 owner was also on board, he gave the matter but 
 little thought, and soon after called Nanita aft to 
 be fed. 
 
A Story of the Great River 97 
 
 While he was attending to her wants, the cry of 
 "fire" was raised. The flames burst out some 
 where near the centre of the boat, in the vicinity 
 of the engine-room, and had already gained such 
 headway as to interpose an effectual barrier be 
 tween him and the forward deck. He supposed 
 that the boat would at once be headed for the 
 nearest bank, but found to his dismay that almost 
 with the first outbreak of flame the steering-gear 
 had been rendered useless. At the same time 
 the engineers had been driven from their post 
 of duty, and thus the splendid packet, freighted 
 with death and destruction, continued to rush 
 headlong down the river, without guidance or 
 check. 
 
 Amid the terrible scenes that ensued, Mr. Man- 
 ton, followed \)j his faithful dog, was barely able 
 to reach his own stateroom, secure his money and 
 some important papers, wrench the door from its 
 hinges, throw it and Nanita overboard, and then 
 leap for his own life into the dark waters. 
 
 At this point the grateful man again tried to ex 
 press his sense of obligation to his rescuers, but was 
 interrupted by Billy Brackett, who could not bear to 
 be thanked for performing so obvious and simple 
 an act of duty. To change the subject the young 
 engineer told of Bim s act of real heroism in saving 
 one and attempting to save the other members of 
 
298 Eafimates: 
 
 the little family, which he evidently considered 
 had been left in his charge. 
 
 To this story Mr. Manton listened with the deep 
 est interest ; and when it was concluded, he said, 
 " He is a dear dog, and most certainly a hero, if 
 there ever was one. I shall always love him for 
 this night s work." 
 
 Then Bim, who was now covered with healing 
 ointment and swathed in bandages, was petted and 
 praised until even Nanita grew jealous, and insisted 
 on receiving a share of her master s attention. 
 
 All the while the brave bull-dog looked into the 
 faces of those gathered about him with such a 
 pleading air of intelligence and such meaning 
 barks that his longing to tell of what had hap 
 pened to him after he started from the raft in pur 
 suit of the odious "river-trader" who had once 
 kicked him was evident to them all. If he only 
 could have spoken, he would have told of the 
 cruel blow by which he was momentarily stunned, 
 of finding himself in a bag in the river, of how 
 he had succeeded by a desperate struggle in es 
 caping from it and finally reaching the shore, of 
 his distress at not finding the raft, and the sad 
 search for his master through the town, of his 
 meeting with Nanita, and of his decision to accept 
 her advice and take passage with her down the 
 river* in which direction he was certain his floating 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 99 
 
 home had gone. All this Bim would have com 
 municated to his friends if he could ; but as they 
 were too dull of comprehension to understand him, 
 they have remained in ignorance to this day of that 
 thrilling chapter of his adventures. 
 
 Besides telling the raf tmates of his cruel experi 
 ence, Mr. Man ton related some of the incidents 
 of a canoe voyage even then being made down the 
 river by his only son Worth and the boy s most 
 intimate friend, Sumner Rankin. These two had 
 made a canoe cruise together through the Ever 
 glades of Florida the winter before, and had en 
 joyed it so much, that when Mr. Manton proposed 
 that they should accompany him to Louisiana, they 
 had begged to be allowed to make the trip in 
 their canoes. 
 
 " They started from Memphis," continued Mr. 
 Manton, " and have had some fine duck and turkey 
 shooting among the Coahoma sloughs and cane- 
 brakes. With them is a colored man named 
 Quorum, who crossed the Everglades with them, 
 and who now accompanies them, in a skiff that 
 they purchased in Memphis, as cook and general 
 adviser. I have heard from them several times by 
 letter, and so know of their progress. It has been 
 so good that unless I make haste they will reach 
 Moss Bank before me. That is the name of our 
 new home," he added, by way of explanation. 
 
300 Raftmates : 
 
 " Wha dat yo say, sab ?" exclaimed Solon, who 
 had been an interested listener. " Yo callin dat 
 ar plantashun Moss Back ?" 
 
 "Yes, Moss Bank is the name it has always 
 borne, I believe," replied Mr. Manton. " But 
 why do you ask ? Do you know the place ?" 
 
 " Does I know um ! Does I know de place I 
 war horned an brung up in? Why, sah, dat ar 
 my onlies home befo de wah. Ole Marse Kankim 
 own um, an me an he boy, de young marse, hab 
 de same mammy. So him my froster-brudder. He 
 gwine away fer a sailor ossifer, an den de wah 
 comin on, an ebberyt ing gwine ter smash. He 
 name l Summer. Yo know dat young gen l man ?" 
 
 " Yes," replied Mr. Manton, " I knew him inti 
 mately. He has been dead for several years ; but 
 I am well acquainted with his family, and it is his 
 son who is now travelling down the river in com 
 pany with my boy. In fact, it was through him 
 that I came to purchase this old plantation, with a 
 view to making it our winter home." 
 
 " Praise de Lawd, I gwine ter see a Rankim 
 once mo !" exclaimed the old negro. " Yo is 
 gwine stop at de ole Moss Back place, Marse 
 Winn? Yo sholyis?" 
 
 u Why, yes ; if Mr. Manton would like to have 
 us, I think we should be very happy to stop there 
 when we reach it," said Winn. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 301 
 
 "Stop! Of course you will," exclaimed Na- 
 nita s master. "1 have already planned for that, 
 and should feel terribly disappointed if you did 
 not. I want to see more of you, and I want you 
 to meet and know my boys. Besides, I was going 
 to ask you to allow Nanita and her pup to com 
 plete their journey down the river on this raft in 
 company with Bim, who will, I know, take good 
 care of them. If you should consent to this plan, 
 of course you will be obliged to stop at Moss Bank 
 to land them. 
 
 "We shall be delighted to have them," said 
 Billy Brackett; "and, on behalf of Bim, I hereby 
 extend a formal invitation to them to become his 
 raftmates for the remainder of the cruise. At the 
 same time, I am certain that my companions, as 
 well as myself, will be most happy to visit you in 
 your new home, and there make the acquaintance 
 of your boys." 
 
 By the time this arrangement was concluded it 
 was daylight, and Mr. Manton insisted on the raft- 
 mates turning in for a nap, while he and Solon 
 kept watch. He remained on board the Venture 
 all that day, and by sunset the current had borne 
 the raft forward so rapidly that they were able to 
 tie up near Columbus, Kentucky. At this point the 
 owner of Moss Bank bade his new-made friends au 
 revoi/r, and started by rail for his Louisiana home. 
 
S02 Eaftmates : A Story of the Great River. 
 
 After his departure, and during the month of 
 drifting that followed, the raftmates talked so 
 much of Moss Bank, and listened to so many 
 stories concerning it from Solon, that to their 
 minds it grew to be the objective point of their 
 trip, and seemed as though it must be the one 
 place towards which their whole voyage was tend 
 ing. Much as they anticipated the reaching of 
 this far-southern plantation, however, they would 
 have been greatly surprised and decidedly incredu 
 lous had any one told them that it was indeed to 
 mark the limit of their voyage, and that there the 
 good raft Venture, from Wisconsin for New Or 
 leans, was destined to vanish, and become but a 
 fading memory. But so it was, as they found out, 
 and as we shall sea. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 BIM S COON. 
 
 THROUGH the last week of November and the 
 first three of December our raftmates drifted 
 steadily southward down the great river. Al 
 though it was the most unpleasant season of the 
 year, and they encountered both cold rains and 
 bitter winds that chilled them to the marrow, the 
 boys thoroughly enjoyed their experience. They 
 could always retreat to the " shanty," which Solon 
 kept well filled with warmth and comfort, and 
 they had the satisfaction of an uninterrupted prog 
 ress. The management of the raft called for a 
 vast amount of hard and monotonous work ; but it 
 gave them splendid muscles and tremendous appe 
 tites. They were obliged to maintain a constant 
 lookout for bars, reefs, snags, and up-bound river 
 craft, and by means of the long sweeps at either 
 end of the raft head it this way or that to avoid 
 these obstacles and keep the channel. They were 
 always on the move from sunrise to sunset, and 
 generally travelled on moonlit nights as well. If 
 the night promised to be dark or stormy they tied 
 up at the nearest bank. 
 
304 JRaftmates: 
 
 At such times the outside blackness, the howling 
 wind, driving rain-squalls, and dashing waves only 
 heightened the interior cosiness, the light, warmth, 
 and general comfort of their floating home. In it 
 they played games, sang songs to the accompani 
 ment of Solon s banjo, told stories, taught the dogs 
 tricks ; or, under Billy Brackett s direction, pegged 
 away at engineering problems, such as are con 
 stantly arising in the course of railway construc 
 tion. Even Winn tried his hand at these ; for 
 under the stimulus of his companions enthusiasm 
 he was beginning to regard the career of an engi 
 neer as one of the most desirable and manly in 
 which a young fellow could embark. 
 
 This voyage into the world, with such guides 
 and associates as Billy Brackett, Glen Elting, and 
 Binney Gibbs, was proving of inestimable value to 
 this boy. Not only were his ideas of life broadened 
 and his stock of general information increased by 
 it, but he was rapidly learning to appreciate the 
 beauty of modest pretensions, and a self-reliance 
 based upon knowledge and strength, as compared 
 with the boastf ulness and self-conceit of ignorance. 
 
 Sometimes the Venture was tied up for the night 
 near other rafts, and its crew exchanged visits 
 with theirs. The regular river raftsmen were gen 
 erally powerful young giants, rough and unlettered, 
 but a good-natured, happy-go-lucky lot, full of tales 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 805 
 
 of adventure in the woods or on the river, to which 
 the boys listened with a never-failing delight. Nor 
 were the raftmates at all behindhand in this inter 
 change of good stories ; for they could tell of life 
 on the Plains or in California, of Indians, buffalo, 
 mountains, deserts, and gold-mines, to which their 
 auditors listened with wide-open eyes and gaping 
 mouths. During the pauses Solon was always 
 ready with some account of the wonderful per 
 formances of his long-ago coon dog Bijah. 
 
 So wise did our raftmates become concerning 
 coons and their habits, from Solon s teachings, that 
 finally nothing would satisfy them but a coon hunt 
 of their own. Billy Brackett was certain that Bim, 
 who by this time had fully recovered from the ef 
 fects of his burns, would prove as good at finding 
 coons as he had at everything else in which he 
 had been given a chance. Solon was doubtful, be 
 cause of Bim s color and the length of his tail. 
 
 " I hain t nebber see no fust-class coon dawg 
 wha warn t yallar an stumpy tail lak my Bijah 
 war," he would remark, gazing reflectively at Bim, 
 and shaking his head. "Of cose dish yer Bim 
 dawg uncommon knowin , an maybe him tree a 
 coon mos ez good ez Bijah ; but hit s a gif, an a 
 mighty skurce gif mong dawgs." 
 
 " Oh, come off, Solon !" Billy Brackett would an 
 swer. "You just wait till you see Bim tree a 
 
306 Raftmates: 
 
 coon. He ll do it so quick, after we once get into 
 a coon neighborhood, that your Bijah would be 
 left a thousand miles behind, and you won t ever 
 want to mention his name again." 
 
 So one night when the Venture was well down 
 towards the lower end of the State of Arkansas a 
 grand coon hunt was arranged. They drew lots to 
 decide who should be left behind in charge of the 
 raft, and, much to his disgust, the unwelcome task 
 fell to Glen. So he remained on board with Nanita 
 and Cherub, as the pup had been named in honor 
 of Bim, though it was generally called " Cheer-up," 
 and the others sallied forth into the woods. 
 
 They were well provided with fat pine torches 
 and armed with axes. Bim was full of eager ex 
 citement, and dashed away into the darkness the 
 moment they set foot on shore. His incessant bark 
 ing showed him to be first on this side and then on 
 that, while once in a while they caught a glimpse 
 of his white form glancing across the outer rim of 
 their circle of torchlight. 
 
 "Isn t he hunting splendidly?" cried Billy 
 Brackett, with enthusiasm. 
 
 "Yes, sah," replied Solon ; "but him huntin too 
 loud. We ain t gettin to de place yet, an ef he 
 don quit he barkin , him skeer off all de coon in 
 de State. 
 
 So Bim was called in, and restrained with a bit 
 
A Story of the Great River. $07 
 
 of rope until a corn-field was reached that Solon 
 pronounced the right kind of a place from which 
 to make a start. Then the eager dog was again 
 set free, and in less than a minute was heard giv 
 ing utterance to the peculiar yelping note that 
 announced his game as " treed." 
 
 "What did I tell you?" shouted Billy Brackett, 
 triumphantly, as he started on a run for the point 
 from which the sounds proceeded. How s that 
 for " but at that instant the speaker tripped over 
 a root, and measured his length on the ground with 
 a crash that knocked both breath and powers of 
 speech from his body. The others were so close 
 behind that they fell on top of him like a row of 
 bricks, and in the resulting confusion their torch 
 was extinguished. 
 
 Hastily picking themselves up, and without paus 
 ing to relight the pine splinters, they rushed pell- 
 mell towards the sound of barking, bumping into 
 trees, stumbling over logs, scratching their faces 
 and tearing their clothes on thorny vines. But 
 no one minded. Bim had treed a coon in the 
 shortest time on record, and now if they could only 
 get it, the triumph would be ample reward for all 
 their trials. 
 
 Finally, bruised, battered, and ragged, they 
 reached the tree which Bim, with wild leapings, 
 was endeavoring to climb. Their first move was 
 
308 Rafimates: 
 
 to illumine the scene with a huge bonfire. By its 
 light they proceeded to a closer examination of the 
 situation. The tree was a huge moss-hung water- 
 oak, evidently too large to be chopped down, as all 
 the coon trees of Solon s stories had been. So 
 Winn offered to climb it and shake out the -coon. 
 As yet they had not discovered the animal, but 
 Bim was so confident of its presence that they 
 took his word for it. 
 
 Solon had raised a false alarm as the first 
 gleam of firelight penetrated the dark mass of 
 foliage above them by exclaiming : 
 
 "Dar he! Me see um! Lookee, Marse Brack, 
 in dat ar crutch !" 
 
 But what the old negro saw proved to be a 
 bunch of mistletoe, and when Winn began his 
 climb the coon s place of concealment was still 
 unknown. Up went the boy higher and higher, 
 carefully examining each limb as he passed it, 
 until he was among the very topmost branches of 
 the tree. The others stood on opposite sides of 
 the trunk, with axes or clubs uplifted, and gazed 
 anxiously upward until their necks ached. 
 
 At length Winn became aware that from the 
 outermost end of a slender branch just above his 
 head a pair of green eyes were glaring at him. 
 The glare was accompanied by an angry spitting 
 sound. " I ve found him, fellows ! Look out below !" 
 
A Story of the Great Rim&r. S09 
 
 he shouted, and began a vigorous shaking of the 
 branch. All at once the animal uttered a sound 
 that caused a sudden cessation of his efforts. It 
 also caused Winn to produce a match from his 
 pocket, light it, and hold the tiny flame high 
 above his head. Then, without a word, he began 
 to descend the tree. 
 
 As he dropped to the ground the others ex 
 claimed in amazement, " What s the matter, Winn ? 
 Where s the coon ? Why didn t you shake him 
 down?" 
 
 "He s up there," replied Winn, "but I don t 
 want him. If any of you do, you d better go up 
 and shake hirn down. I d advise you to take a 
 torch along, though." 
 
 Not another word of explanation would he give 
 them, and finally Binney Gibbs, greatly provoked 
 at the other s stubbornness, declared he would go 
 up and shake that coon down in a hurry, too. 
 He so far accepted Winn s advice as to provide 
 himself with a blazing knot, and then up he start 
 ed. In a few minutes he too returned to the 
 ground, saying that he guessed Winn was about 
 right, and they didn t want that coon after all. 
 
 " What in the name of all foolishness do you 
 mean?" cried Billy Brackett, impatiently. "Speak 
 out, man, and tell us, can t you ?" 
 
 But Binney acted precisely as Winn had done, 
 
310 Raftmates: 
 
 and advised any one who wanted that coon to go 
 and get it. 
 
 " Well, I will !" exclaimed the young engineer, 
 almost angrily ; " and I only hope I can manage 
 to drop him on top of one of your heads." 
 
 With this he started up the tree, and disappeared 
 among its thick branches. He quickly made his 
 way to the top. Then the rustling of leaves 
 ceased, there was a moment of silence, followed by 
 a muttered exclamation, and Billy Brackett came 
 hastily down to where the others were expectantly 
 awaiting him. 
 
 " Let s go home, boys," he said, as he picked up 
 his axe and started in the direction of the river. 
 " Come, Bim ; your reputation as a coon dog is 
 so well established that there is no need to test it 
 any further." 
 
 Poor Solon, who was too old and stiff to climb 
 the tree, was completely mystified by these strange 
 proceedings ; but his expostulation of, 
 
 "Wha wha s de meanin ob dish yer !" was 
 cut short by the departure of his companions, and 
 he was obliged to hasten after them. 
 
 A few minutes after the coon hunters had 
 gone a big boy, and a little girl with a tear-stained 
 face, who had come from a house just beyond the 
 corn-field, reached the spot, to which they had 
 been attracted by the firelight. As thev did so. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 311 
 
 the child uttered a cry of joy, sprang to the water- 
 oak, and caught up a frightened - looking little 
 black and white kitten that was cautiously de 
 scending the big trunk backward. 
 
 To this day the outcome of that coon hunt re 
 mains a sealed mystery to poor Solon, while Biin 
 has never been invited to go on another. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THR GREAT RIVER AND ITS MISCHIEF. 
 
 THE scenery amid which the good raft Venture 
 performed its long and eventful voyage changed 
 almost with the rapidity of a kaleidoscope, but 
 was ever fascinating and full of pleasant surprises. 
 The flaming autumnal foliage of the forest-lined 
 banks through which the first hundred miles or so 
 were made, gave way to masses of sombre browns or 
 rich purples, and these in turn to the flecked white 
 of cotton-fields, the dark green of live-oaks, and 
 the silver gray of Spanish moss. The picturesque 
 cliffs of the upper river, rising in places to almost 
 mountainous heights, were merged into the low- 
 lauds of canebrakes and swamps, broken by ranges 
 of bluffs along the eastern bank after the Ohio 
 was passed. On these bluffs were perched many 
 cities and towns that were full of interest to our 
 raftmates; among them, Memphis, Yicksburg, 
 Natchez, and Baton Rouge. Every here and there 
 in the low bottom lands of the " Delta " below 
 Memphis they saw the rounded tops of great 
 mounds, raised by prehistoric dwellers in that 
 
fiaftmate* : A Story of the Great fiiver. 31$ 
 
 region as places of refuge during seasons of flood. 
 They passed from the great northern wheat region 
 into that of corn, then into the broad cotton belt, 
 and finally to the land of sugar-cane and rice, 
 orange -trees, glossy -leaved magnolias, and gaunt 
 moss-hung cypresses. 
 
 Of more immediate interest even than these 
 ever-changing features of the land was the varied 
 and teeming life of the mighty river itself. The 
 boys were never tired of watching the streams 
 of strange craft constantly passing up or down. 
 Here a splendid packet in all the glory of fresh 
 paint, gleaming brass, gay bunting, and crowds of 
 passengers rushed swiftly southward with the 
 current in mid-channel ; or, up-bound, ploughed a 
 mighty furrow against it, while the hoarse cough- 
 ings of its high-pressure engines echoed along 
 many a mile of forest wall. 
 
 Smaller up-bound boats hugged the banks in 
 search of slack water. Most of the main-stream 
 packets were side- wheelers ; but those of lighter 
 draught, bound far up the Red, the Arkansas, the 
 Yazoo, the Sunflower, or other tributary rivers, 
 were provided with great stern wheels that made 
 them look like exaggerated wheelbarrows. Then 
 there were the tow-boats, pushing dozens of sooty 
 coal-barges from the Ohio ; freight-boats so piled 
 with cotton-bales that only their pilot-houses and 
 
814 Eaftmates : 
 
 chimneys were visible; trading -scows and "Jo- 
 boats ;" floating dance-houses and theatres ; ferry 
 boats driven by steam, or propelled by mule-power, 
 like the What/not some large enough to carry a 
 whole train of cars from shore to shore, and others 
 with a capacity of but a single team. There were 
 skiffs, canoes, pirogues, and rafts of all sizes and 
 description. 
 
 Most interesting of all, however, were the Gov- 
 arnment snag-boats, which constantly patrolled the 
 river, on the lookout for obstructions that the^ 
 might remove. These boats were doubled-hulled ; 
 and when one of them straddled a snag, no matter 
 if it was the largest tree that ever grew, it was 
 bound to disappear. With great steam-driven 
 saws it would be cut into sections, that were lifted 
 and swung aside by powerful derricks planted 
 near the bows. These useful snag-boats also gave 
 relief to distressed craft of all kinds ; blew up or 
 removed dangerous wrecks ; dislodged rafts of drift 
 that threatened to form inconvenient bars ; and in 
 a thousand ways acted the part of an ever- vigilant 
 police for this grandest of American highways. 
 
 And the great restless river needed watching. 
 It was as full of mischievous pranks as a youthful 
 giant experimenting with his new-found strength. 
 It thought nothing of biting out a few hundred 
 acres of land from one bank and depositing them 
 
A Story of the Great jRiver. 316 
 
 miles below on the other. If these acres were 
 occupied by houses or cultivated fields, so much 
 the more fun for the river. For years it would 
 flow peacefully in a well-known channel around 
 some great bend, then decide to make a change, 
 and in a single night cut a new channel straight 
 across the loop of land. By such a prank not only 
 were all the river pilots thoroughly bewildered, 
 but a large slice of one State, with its inhabitants 
 and buildings, would be transferred to another. 
 If at the same time an important river -town 
 could be stranded and left far inland, the happi 
 ness of the mischief -making giant was complete ; 
 and for many miles it would swirl and eddy and 
 boil and ripple with exuberant glee over the suc 
 cess of its efforts. 
 
 Above all it delighted in secretly gathering to 
 itself from tributary streams their vast accumula 
 tions of protracted rains or melting snows, until it 
 was swollen to twice its ordinary size, and endowed 
 with a strength that nothing could withstand. 
 Then with mighty leaps it would overflow its 
 banks, cover whole counties with its tawny floods, 
 burst through levees, and riot over thousands of 
 cultivated fields, sweep away houses, uproot trees, 
 and drown every unfortunate creature on which it 
 could lay its clutching fingers. Whenever its flee 
 ing victims managed to reach some little mound 
 
316 Rafima6e$: 
 
 or bit of high land that it could not climb, then it 
 found equal pleasure in surrounding them and 
 mocking them with its plashing chuckles, while 
 they suffered the pangs of slow starvation. 
 
 At these times of overflow not only the snag- 
 boats but such other craft as could be pressed into 
 the service were despatched in every direction to 
 the relief of the river giant s victims. While on 
 this duty they carried provisions, clothing, and 
 other necessaries of life into the most remote dis* 
 tricts; effected rescues from floating houses, 01 
 those whose roofs alone rose above the flood and 
 afforded uncertain refuge for their inmates; re 
 moved human beings and live-stock from little 
 muddy islands miles away from the main channel 
 <of the river, carried them miles farther before 
 reaching places of safety, and in every way strove 
 with all their might to mitigate the calamity of 
 unfettered waters. 
 
 Our raftmates had witnessed the effect of all 
 these freaks and caprices, except that of a wide 
 spread and devastating flood, during their voyage, 
 and as they drew near its end they became aware 
 that an acquaintance with this most terrible of all 
 the river s efforts at destruction was to be added 
 to their experience. The drought of summer had 
 been followed by an almost unprecedented rainfall 
 during the autumn. The earth in every direction 
 
A Story of the Great River. 317 
 
 was like an oversoaked sponge, and the surplus 
 water was pouring in turbid torrents into the 
 rivers. From every quarter of the vast Mississippi 
 Valley these watery legions were hurried forward 
 to join the all-conquering forces of the great river. 
 
 It had been high-water in the Ohio when the 
 Venture lay at Cairo. When it passed the mouth 
 of the Arkansas its crew were amazed at the 
 mighty volume of its muddy flood. From this 
 on they floated in company with ever-increasing 
 masses of drift trees, fences, farming imple 
 ments, straw-stacks, cotton-bales, out-buildings, and 
 every now and then a house, lifted bodily from its 
 foundations, and borne away in the resistless arms 
 of the ever-swelling tide. Most of the houses were 
 empty, but from several of them the ready skiff 
 of the Venture effected rescues, now of a solitary 
 individual driven to the verge of despair by the 
 lonely terrors of his situation, and then of whole 
 wretched families who had lost everything in the 
 world except their lives. A cow, several pigs, 
 and dozens of barn-yard fowls also found an asylum 
 on the friendly raft, until, as Billy Brackett said, 
 it reminded one of the original and only Noah s 
 ark menagerie. 
 
 Besides supplying the raft with passengers, the 
 river helped to feed them. Floating straw-stacks 
 and shocks of corn were always in sight, while 
 
S18 Raftmates: 
 
 fresh milk and eggs, pork and chickens, drifted 
 with the current on all sides. In vain were these 
 passengers landed at the nearest accessible points. 
 A new lot was always found to take the place of 
 those who had left, and for ten days the raft re 
 sembled a combination of floating hotel, nursery, 
 hospital, and farm -yard. The resources of our 
 raftmates were taxed to their utmost during this 
 time to provide for the manifold wants of their 
 welcome but uninvited guests, while Solon de 
 clared, " I hain t nebber done sich a sight er cook- 
 en durin all de days ob my life." 
 
 By the time the mouth of the Red River was 
 reached, half of Concordia Parish was flooded, and 
 but for the forest trees rising from the water, the 
 boys would have thought themselves afloat on a 
 vast inland sea. The low bluffs on which the cap 
 ital of Louisiana is seated, and beyond which the 
 cane lands extend in almost a dead level to the 
 Gulf, were occupied by the tents and rude shelters 
 of hundreds of refugees from the drowned dis 
 tricts. Here our raftmates began to entertain fears 
 for the safety of their friends at the Moss Bank 
 plantation, which lay but a day s journey further 
 down the river. 
 
 At Baton Rouge they cleared the raft of its liv 
 ing encumbrances, and then pushed ahead. From 
 this point to the Gulf the great river is enclosed 
 
A Story of the Great Miner. 319 
 
 between massive levees, or embankments of earth, 
 behind which the level of the far-reaching cane- 
 fields is much lower than the surface of high- 
 water. Thus the raft was borne swiftly along at 
 such an elevation that its crew could look over the 
 top of the eastern levee and down over a vast area 
 of plantation lands. These were dotted with dark 
 clumps of live-oaks or magnolias, and at wide in 
 tervals with little settlements of whitewashed ne 
 gro quarters, grouped behind the broad- verandaed 
 dwellings of the planters. Near each was the mill 
 in which the cane from the broad fields was crushed 
 and its sweet juices converted into sugar. These 
 mills were surmounted by tall iron smoke-stacks, 
 and near each stood the square, tower-like bagasse 
 (refuse) burner, built of stone, and looking like the 
 keep of some ancient castle. 
 
 All along the levee they saw gangs of men at 
 work strengthening the embankments and raising 
 them still higher. They were often hailed and 
 asked to lend assistance, but they felt that their 
 own friends might be in need of them, and SG 
 passed on without answer. So changed was the 
 aspect of the country since Solon had last seen it, 
 and so excited did the old man become as he neared 
 the scenes of former years, that it was evident he 
 could not be depended upon to recognize Mos* 
 Bank when they should reach it. 
 
3tO Raftmates: 
 
 The day was nearly spent before they arrived at 
 what they felt sure must be its immediate vicinity. 
 They had decided to tie up at the first good place, 
 and there wait for morning, when Winn called 
 out : 
 
 " What is that just ahead ? I thought it was a 
 log ; but it seems to be moving towards us, and I 
 believe it is some sort of a small boat with a man 
 in it." 
 
 The object to which their attention was thus 
 directed proved to be a decked canoe, the very 
 daintest craft any of them had ever seen, bearing 
 the name Psyche in gold letters on either bow. In 
 it sat a boy of about Winn s age, urging it for 
 ward with vigorous strokes of a double -bladed 
 paddle. 
 
 The raft was close to the levee as he shot along 
 side. 
 
 " Hello !" he shouted ; " is this the raft Vent 
 ure f 
 
 " Yes. Are you Worth Manton ?" 
 
 " No ; but I am Sumner Rankin. Worth is 
 down there with his father and all the hands we 
 could raise, working on the levee ; but we are afraid 
 it can t stand much longer. I have been out here 
 hailing every raft that passed, and watching for 
 you for the last three days. I m awfully glad 
 you ve come* for our men are discouraged, and 
 
A Story of the Great River. S21 
 
 about ready to give up. Now, perhaps you will 
 help us." 
 
 " Of course we will ! Come right aboard and 
 show us where to tie up," answered Billy Brackett, 
 heartily. 
 
 By the time the raft was made fast near the 
 scene of greatest danger, and Mr. Manton, with 
 Worth, had come aboard, the night was as dark as 
 pitch. The lanterns of the working gang glancing 
 here and there like so many fire-flies were feebly 
 reflected in the angry waters that slid stealthily by 
 with uncanny gurglings and muttered growls. 
 
 " If the bank will only hold until morning !" 
 said Mr. Manton, about midnight, as he and Billy 
 Brackett entered the Venture s cosey "shanty" for 
 a brief rest. All but these two and Solon were 
 asleep, laying in a stock of strength for the labors 
 of the next day. 
 
 Suddenly there came a frightened shouting from 
 the bank. Then all other sounds were drowned 
 in the furious roar of rushing waters, while the 
 raft seemed to be lifted bodily and hurled into 
 space. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 HURLED THROUGH THB CREVASSE AND WRECKED. 
 
 DURING the earlier hours of that eventful night 
 Billy Brackett had brought all his engineering skill 
 to bear upon the problem of how to save the Moss 
 Bank levee. His cheery presence, and the evident 
 knowledge that he displayed, inspired all hands 
 with confidence and a new energy. Under his di 
 rection the raftmates worked like beavers, and Mr. 
 Manton was more hopeful that the levee could be 
 made to withstand the terrible pressure of swollen 
 waters than he had been from the beginning. But 
 it was very old and had been neglected for years. 
 By daylight the young engineer might have noted 
 its weak spots, and strengthened them. He would 
 have seen the thin streams that silently, but 
 steadily and in ever-increasing volume, were work 
 ing their way through the embankment near its 
 base. In the inky blackness of the night they 
 were unheeded ; and while spade and pick were 
 plied with unflagging zeal to strengthen the higher 
 portions, these insidious foes were equally busy un 
 dermining its foundations. 
 
Raftmate* : A Story of the Great Eiver. 823 
 
 Shortly before midnight everything seemed BO 
 secure that the boys were sent to the Venture s 
 " shanty " to get a few hours of sleep. Then Billy 
 Brackett and Mr. Manton came in for the hot cof 
 fee Solon was preparing for them. They had 
 hardly seated themselves at the table when the 
 catastrophe occurred. Without warning, a quarter 
 of a mile of the water -soaked levee sank out of 
 sight, and dissolved like so much wet sugar. Into 
 the huge gap thus opened the exulting waters 
 leaped with the rush and roar of a cataract. On 
 the foaming crest of this tawny flood the stout 
 timber raft was borne and whirled like an autumn 
 leaf. A few of the working gang managed to reach 
 it and save themselves, but others were swept 
 away like thistle-down. 
 
 The boys thus rudely awakened from a sound 
 sleep sprang up with frightened questionings, 
 while Solon sank to his knees, paralyzed with ter 
 ror. Nanita stood guard over her puppy, while 
 Bim, with a single bark of defiance, leaped to his 
 master s side and looked into his face for orders. 
 
 "Steady, boys! Steady!" shouted Billy Brack 
 ett, as coolly as though nothing unusual were hap 
 pening. " Ko, not outside. Keep that door closed. 
 It is safer in here. We can do nothing but wait 
 patiently until the raft fetches up against some 
 thing solid or grounds. Hear the waves boiling 
 
324 Eqftmates: 
 
 over the deck? There s a big chance of being 
 swept off and dashed to bits out there." 
 
 For five minutes the raft was hurled forward 
 and tossed with sickening plunges, as though in a 
 heavy seaway, until its occupants were nearly pros 
 trated with nausea. Then came a crash and a shock 
 that piled them in headlong confusion on one side 
 of the room. There was a grinding and groaning 
 of timbers. One side of the raft was lifted, and the 
 other forced down, until the floor of the " shanty" 
 sloped steeply. With a single impulse all hands 
 rushed to the door and into the open air. 
 
 The raft seemed to be stranded at the base of a 
 rocky cliff that towered directly above it to an 
 unknown height. Against it the mad waters were 
 dashing savagely. Beneath their feet the stout 
 timbers quivered with such uneasy movements 
 that it seemed as though the end of the Venture 
 had come, and that a few more seconds or minutes 
 must witness its total destruction. Still they clung 
 to it and to each other, for they had no other ref 
 uge, and in the absolute darkness surrounding them 
 it would have been worse than folly to seek one. 
 
 After a while the first rush of waters passed, and 
 they settled into a strong smooth flow like that 
 of the great river from which they came. The 
 uneasy movements of the raft ceased, and its 
 shivering occupants again began to breath freely. 
 
A Story of the Great River. 325 
 
 " I guess it is all right, boys !" called out Billy 
 Brackett. " I believe we are stranded at the foot 
 of the bagasse -burner; but the old craft has evi 
 dently made up its mind to hold together for a 
 while longer, at any rate. So I move that we 
 crawl into the shanty again. It s a good deal 
 warmer and more comfortable in there than it is 
 out here." 
 
 So, very cautiously, to prevent themselves from 
 slipping off the steeply-sloping deck, our raftmates 
 worked their way back into the little house thai 
 had for so long been their home. They found the 
 lower side of the floor about two feet under water 
 
 All hands were greatly depressed by the ca 
 lamity that had overtaken them. Mr. Manton, 
 Worth, Sumner, and old Solon grieved over the 
 ruin of Moss Bank. Glen and Binney feared for 
 the safety of General Elting s valuable instru 
 ments. Billy Brackett wondered if Major Cas 
 par, or any one else, would ever again have confi 
 dence in him as the leader of an expedition, while 
 Winn, who had never ceased to reproach himself 
 for the manner in which the voyage of the Vent 
 ure had been begun, was now filled with dismay 
 at its disastrous termination. 
 
 He, as well as the others, realized that the raft 
 was a fixture in its present position, that it would 
 never again float on the bosom of the great river, 
 
326 
 
 and that all dreams of selling it in New Orleans 
 must now be abandoned. He knew how greatly 
 his father was in need of the money he had hoped 
 to receive from it. He knew what a blow the 
 loss of the wheat had been. Now the raft was 
 lost as well As the unhappy boy s thoughts 
 travelled back over the incidents of the trip, and 
 he remembered that but for him the wheat would 
 not have been lost, and but for him the raft would 
 probably have been sold in St. Louis, his self-accu 
 sations found their way to his eyes, and trickled 
 slowly down his cheeks in the shape of hot tears. 
 The others could not see them in the darkness, 
 and he would not have cared much if they could. 
 
 But Billy Brackett was not giving way to his 
 grief. There was too much to be done for that. 
 He was trying to set up the overturned stove, 
 and make things more comfortable. At the same 
 time his cheery tones were raising the low spirits 
 of his companions, and causing them to take a 
 brighter view of the situation. 
 
 The young engineer, with Glen and Solon to 
 aid him, worked in darkness, for the lamp had 
 rolled from the table when the raft struck the 
 stone tower, and been extinguished in the water 
 that flooded part of the " shanty." In spite of 
 this drawback, they finally succeeded in getting 
 the stove into position. Then they began to feel 
 
A Story of the Great Ewer. 327 
 
 for fuel with which to make a fire. Everything 
 was wet. Some one proposed breaking up a chair, 
 but Billy Brackett exclaimed, 
 
 " Hold on ! I have thought of something 
 better." 
 
 With this he caught hold of one of the thin 
 boards used by the "river -traders" to ceil the 
 room, and, with a powerful wrench, tore it off. This 
 particular board happened to be near where Winn 
 was sitting on the floor, so filled with his own sad 
 thoughts that he paid but slight attention to what 
 was going on about him. As the board was torn 
 from its place several soft objects fell near him, 
 and one of them struck his hand. It seemed to 
 be paper, and when Billy Brackett sung out for 
 some paper with which to start the fire, Winn said, 
 " Here s a wad that s dry," and tossed the package 
 in the direction of the stove. The young engi 
 neer slipped it under the wood, struck a match, and 
 lighted it. The next instant he uttered a startled 
 exclamation, snatched the package from the stove, 
 and beat out the flame that was rapidly eating 
 into it. 
 
 " What is the matter ?" asked Winn. 
 
 " Matter ?" returned Billy Brackett. " Oh, noth 
 ing at all ; only I can t quite afford to warm my 
 self at fires fed with bank-bills. Not just yet. I 
 wouldn t hesitate to dissolve all my spare pearls in 
 
338 Raftmatet: 
 
 vinegar, if I felt an inclination for that kind of a 
 drink, but I must draw a line at greenback fuel. 
 Where did you get them ? Whose are they ? 
 And why in the name of poverty do you want 
 them burned up? Has your wealth become a 
 burden to you?" 
 
 " Are they really bills ?" asked Winn, incredu 
 lously. 
 
 For answer Billy Brackett struck anothei 
 match, and all saw that he indeed held a package 
 of bank-notes with charred ends. The same light 
 showed Winn to be surrounded by a number of 
 similar packages. 
 
 The expression of complete bewilderment that 
 appeared on the boy s face as he saw these was 
 so ludicrous that, as the match went out, a shout 
 of laughter rang through the "shanty." 
 
 u As long as they are so plenty, I guess we 
 might as well burn them, after all," said Billy 
 Brackett, quietly. With this he struck another 
 match, relighted the little bundle of bills in his 
 hand, and again thrust it into the stove. 
 
 For a moment the others believed him to have 
 lost his senses. Winn made a wild dash at the 
 stove door, but Billy Brackett caught his arm. 
 
 " It s all right, and Fm not half so big a fool as 
 I may appear," he said, laughing. " Do you re 
 member our late friends the * river-traders ? And 
 
A Story of the Great River. 329 
 
 that they were counterfeiters ? And that they oc 
 cupied this very shanty for several weeks ? And 
 that, after losing it, they made desperate attempts 
 to regain its possession ? And that we wondered 
 why they had ceiled this room ; also, what had be 
 come of their stock in trade ?" 
 
 To each of these questions Winn gave an affirm 
 ative answer. 
 
 "Well," continued Billy Brackett, "the mystery 
 is a mystery no longer. They ceiled this room to 
 provide a safe and very ingenious hiding-place for 
 their goods ; they wished to regain possession of 
 the raft, that they might recover them. They 
 failed, and so lost them. Now, by the merest acci 
 dent, we have found them." 
 
 " Do you mean " began Winn, slowly. 
 
 "I mean," said Billy Bracket, "that while we 
 are apparently possessed of abundant wealth, it is 
 but the shadow of the substance. In other words, 
 every one of those bills is a counterfeit, and the 
 sooner they are destroyed the better. 
 
 In spite of this disappointing announcement, the 
 desire of the raftmates to discover the full extent 
 of the " river-traders " secret hoard was so great 
 that, having found a candle, they proceeded by ita 
 light to tear off the whole of the interior sheathing 
 of the room. They found a quantity of the counter 
 feit money, which Billy Brackett, sustained by Mr. 
 
SSO Raftmates : 
 
 Manton, insisted upon burning then and there. 
 They also found, carefully hidden by itself, a pack 
 age containing exactly one hundred genuine one- 
 hundred-dollar bills. 
 
 "Enough," said Billy Brackett, quietly, "to re 
 fund the hundred they got from Glen and Binney, 
 to repay Major Caspar for the wheat they dumped 
 overboard, and to make good the loss of the What 
 not, which so nearly broke the heart of our brave 
 old friend Cap n Cod." 
 
 The justice of this disposition of the money was 
 BO evident that not a single dissenting voice was 
 raised among those who had found it, for they all 
 knew that an effort to trace it to its rightful own 
 ers would not only be fruitless, but would cost 
 more than the entire amount. 
 
 The knowledge that his father was thus to be 
 recompensed for the loss of which he had been the 
 direct cause so raised Winn Caspar s spirits that 
 when daylight came, although their situation re 
 mained unchanged, he felt himself to be one of 
 the very happiest boys in all Louisiana. 
 
 The coming of daylight, while gladly hailed by 
 the occupants of the wrecked raft, also disclosed 
 the extent of the devastation caused by the flood. 
 As they had surmised, the Venture was stranded at 
 the foot of the huge stone bagasse-burner. The 
 mill near by was partly demolished. The great 
 
A Story of the Great River. 831 
 
 house, standing amid its clumps of shrubbery and 
 stately trees, a quarter of a mile away, was sur 
 rounded by water that rose nearly to the top of 
 the stone piers by which it was supported. The 
 quarters and other out-buildings had disappeared. 
 Even at that distance they could see a throng of 
 refugees on the verandas and at the windows of 
 the great house. 
 
 " Unless speedy relief comes they will starve," 
 said Mr. Manton, anxiously, " for our provisions 
 had nearly run out yesterday." 
 
 " We are in about the same fix," said Billy 
 Brackett, who had been in earnest consultation 
 with Solon. "I didn t realize until this minute 
 that we had given away nearly the whole of our 
 own supply. Now I find that the few things we 
 had left are under water, and most of them are 
 spoiled." 
 
 At this announcement every one suddenly dis 
 covered that he was intensely hungry ; while Bim, 
 seated on his haunches and waving his fore-paws, 
 began to " speak " vigorously for his breakfast. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 
 A MEETING OF MATES. 
 
 WITH starvation staring our raftmates in the 
 face, the problem of how they were to escape 
 from their present predicament became a most 
 important one. The first suggestion was that 
 they construct a small and easily managed raft 
 from a portion of the material contained in the 
 Venture. They foresaw that it would be impos 
 sible for them to propel even this against the 
 swift current and reach the river, where they 
 might procure relief from some passing boat. 
 Still, even to drift with the current, or at the best 
 to work their way diagonally across it, with the 
 hope of reaching some source of food supply, 
 geemed better than to remain where they were, 
 and accordingly they began to collect material for 
 a raft. 
 
 They had hardly started at this when Worth 
 called out. that he saw a canoe lodged in a clump 
 of shrubbery. 
 
 They all looked where he pointed, and all saw 
 it. Although it was not more than a hundred 
 
Raft/mates : A Story of the Cheat River. SSS 
 
 yards from them, the full force of the current 
 must be encountered for the entire distance be 
 fore one could reach it. 
 
 All were agreed that they must obtain it, if pos 
 sible, and that their very lives might depend upon 
 getting that canoe. First Billy Brackett threw 
 off his clothing, and plunging into the chill waters, 
 attempted to swim to it. He had not covered 
 half the distance before he was compelled to turn 
 back utterly exhausted. Then Glen Elting and 
 Sumner undertook the task together, but splen 
 did swimmers as they were, they could no more 
 stem that resistless flood than they could have 
 flown to the canoe. 
 
 As they were dejectedly resuming their clothing 
 in the " shanty " they were startled by a shout 
 from outside. Winn Caspar had solved the prob 
 lem. While the others were watching the fruit 
 less struggles of Glen and Sumner from one side 
 of the raft he had slipped overboard from the 
 other, and swam diagonally across the current to a 
 hedge of oleanders, the tops of which were still 
 above water. This hedge extended to the river, 
 and passed within fifty yards of the shrubbery in 
 which the canoe was caught. 
 
 When Winn reached the oleanders he was con> 
 siderably below the raft, and of course nearly 
 twice as far from the canoe as when he started. 
 
884 Rqftmates : 
 
 He had anticipated this, however, and now began 
 to work his way back against the current by pull, 
 ing himself from one bush to another. When he 
 reached a point abreast the raft the others saw 
 him and shouted. He only waved his hand in 
 reply and kept on, while they watched him with 
 eager interest. As he gained a position opposite 
 the canoe they shouted again, but still he kept on, 
 until he was nearly a hundred yards above it. 
 
 Then, after a long rest, he left the friendly 
 oleanders, and struck out with brave strokes for 
 the coveted object. He was now again swimming 
 diagonally across the current, and knew that even 
 should he miss the canoe, he would be borne down 
 to the raft. But he did not miss it. He had 
 calculated too well for that ; and when he again 
 reached the raft, he brought the Psyche with him. 
 
 He was chilled to the bone, numb, and sick with 
 exhaustion ; but for such a royal cheer as greeted 
 him, and the praises that his companions showered 
 upon him, he would have dared and suffered twice 
 as much. At the same moment, as if to encourage 
 such brave deeds, the sun shone out warm and 
 bright, transforming the whole character of the 
 scene with its cheery warmth. 
 
 Sumner Rankin was ready, and with a light 
 heart he stepped into his beloved craft. Then, 
 with vigorous strokes of his double-bladed paddle, 
 
A Story of the Great River. 385 
 
 he shot away towards the river, where he was to 
 remain until he could persuade a boat of some 
 kind to come to the relief of his fellow-sufferers. 
 
 In spite of the sunlight and their hopes of rescue, 
 the long hours passed slowly aboard the Venture. 
 There was little to do, and nothing to eat, though 
 Solon did succeed in making a pot of coffee, which 
 they drank without sugar or milk. In one re 
 spect, however, it was the most successful day of 
 the Venture s entire cruise ; for during those 
 tedious hours Billy Brackett and Winii accom 
 plished the object for which it had been under 
 taken. They sold the raft. In gazing over his 
 flooded plantation and planning for its future, 
 Mr. Manton realized that with the subsidence of 
 the waters he would have immediate use for a 
 large quantity of lumber. 
 
 " Why not buy ours ?" suggested Winn. 
 
 " Why not ?" answered Mr. Manton. 
 
 Five minutes later the bargain was completed 
 that transferred the ownership of the Venture, and 
 crowned Major Caspar s undertaking with success. 
 It was such a satisfactory arrangement that they 
 only wondered they had not thought of it before. 
 
 " Here the lumber is, just where I want it, and 
 not a cent of freight to pay," said Mr. Manton. 
 
 " Now you and I can get back to Caspar s Mill, 
 and help your father out with that contract ; and 
 
336 Eaftmates : 
 
 it is high time we were there too," said Billy 
 Brackett to Winn. " Hello ! What s this ? The 
 Psyche coming back again ? If it is, young Ran- 
 kin must be having a fit, for he s black in the 
 face." 
 
 " It s Quorum !" shouted Worth. " In the Cu 
 pid, too ! Of all things, that is the very last I 
 should ever have expected to see !" 
 
 Sure enough, it was the faithful negro progress 
 ing slowly and with such awkwardness that the 
 anxious spectators expected to see him upset at 
 each moment. Nevertheless, he finally succeeded 
 in reaching the raft ; and as they hauled him aboard 
 he gasped, with thankfulness, 
 
 " Dat de seckon time dish yer nigger ebber bin 
 in one ob dem ar cooners, an him hope he be 
 good an daid befo him ebber sperimentin wif um 
 agen !" 
 
 Quorum had come from the great house, where 
 the Cupid was the sole craft to be had. It was 
 only after hours of persuasion and semi-starvation 
 that he had been induced by the other refugees to 
 make the trip to the raft, which they had discov 
 ered soon after daylight. He described a pitiful 
 state of affairs as existing among the hungry throng 
 lie had just left, and declared that another day with 
 out food would witness great suffering in the 
 crowded house. 
 
A Story of the Great Kiner. 3S7 
 
 Even as he related his story, those gathered about 
 him were startled by the shrill note of a steam- 
 whistle coming from the direction of the river. 
 Sumner had found relief, and was bringing it to 
 them. 
 
 During the hours that passed so slowly on the 
 raft, the brave little Psyche had cruised here and 
 there over the broad Mississippi sea, now hailing 
 some boat that refused to stop, and then chasing 
 another that it failed to overtake. Finally, late in 
 the afternoon, Sumner discovered a trail of black 
 smoke coming up-stream and towards him. As he 
 anxiously watched it, trying to decide which way 
 he should go to head it off, he discovered a 
 white banner with a scarlet cross flying out cheer 
 ily just beneath the trail of smoke. Then he 
 knew that help was at hand, and no matter what 
 other boats might do, that one would stop at his 
 signal. 
 
 As it drew near, he was amazed to see that in 
 stead of a river steamer, such as he had expected, 
 the red-cross boat was a fine sea-going yacht ; and 
 as she came dashing towards him, her sharp stem 
 cleaving the brown waters like a knife, her shining 
 black hull, varnished houses, polished metal, and 
 plate-glass flashing in the light of the setting sun, 
 this sailor son of a sailor father thought her the 
 most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She slowed 
 
S38 Eaftmates: 
 
 down at his signal) and in another minute he was 
 alongside. 
 
 A line was flung to him, and making it fast to 
 the Psyche s painter, he clambered up a ladder 
 that had been dropped from the gangway. As he 
 reached the deck, a fine -looking young fellow, 
 apparently but little older than himself, and wear 
 ing a natty yachting uniform, stepped forward to 
 meet him. 
 
 Sumner briefly explained his errand, and point 
 ing to the red-cross flag at the foremast -head, 
 added that he believed aid might be expected from 
 those who sailed under it. 
 
 " Indeed it may," responded the other, heartily ; 
 and our present business is to discover just such 
 cases as you describe. Although the Merdb is, as 
 you see, a private yacht, in which we happened to 
 put into New Orleans during a winter cruise to 
 the southward, she is at present in the service of 
 the Bed Cross Society, of which I am a member, 
 and devoted to the relief of sufferers by this awful 
 flood. May I ask your name ? Mine is Coffin 
 Tristram Coffin ; though I am better known as 
 Breeze McCloud, and that of my friend (here he 
 turned to another young man, also in navy blue) 
 is Mr. Wolfe Brady." 
 
 Half an hour later the beautiful Merab lay at 
 anchor as near the stranded raft as it was safe to 
 
A Story of the Great River. 389 
 
 venture, and its occupants were being transferred 
 to her hospitable deck by one of her boats. 
 Another boat, laden with provisions, was on 
 its way to the starving refugees in the great 
 house. 
 
 The young owner of the Merdb insisted that 
 all those who came from the raft should be his 
 guests, at least for that night. 
 
 The invitation was accepted as promptly and 
 heartily as it had been given, and soon afterwards 
 two very hungry but very merry parties sat down 
 to bountiful dinners in two entirely distinct parts 
 of the yacht. 
 
 Along the mess-table of the galley or the "cam- 
 boose," as the yacht s cook insisted upon calling it 
 were ranged three gentlemen of color, each of 
 whom treated his companions with the greatest 
 deference, though at the same time believing him 
 self to be just a little better posted in culinary 
 matters than either of the others. 
 
 " Dish yer wha I calls a mighty scrumptious 
 repas ," exclaimed Solon, after a long silence de 
 voted to appeasing the pangs of his hunger. " But 
 fo de true ole-time cookin gib me de Moss Back 
 kitchin befo de wah." 
 
 " I specs dat ar berry good in hits way," re 
 marked Quorum ; " same time I hain t nebber eat 
 nuffin kin compare wif de cookin er dem Semin- 
 
640 Eaftmaies : 
 
 yole Injuns what libs in de Ebberglades. Dat s 
 whar I takin my lesson." 
 
 " Sho, gen l muns ! pears to me lak you don t 
 nebber go on er deep-sea v yge whar you gets de 
 genuwine joe-flogger, an de plum -duff, an sich 
 like," said Nimbus, the yacht s cook. " Ef you had, 
 you wouldn talk." 
 
 In the luminous after -saloon the other party 
 was seated at a table white with snowy damask, 
 and gleaming with silver, which was at once the 
 pride and care of old Mateo, the Portuguese stew 
 ard. 
 
 It was a party so overflowing with merriment 
 and laughter, jokes and stories, that from one end 
 of the table the young owner of the yacht was 
 moved to call to his friend at the other, 
 
 " I say, Wolfe, this reminds me of the mess 
 aboard the old Fish Hawk, when we were Dory- 
 mates together off Iceland." 
 
 " It reminds me," said Glen Elting, " of the jolly 
 mess of the Second Division, when Billy Brackett 
 and Binney and I were Campmates together in 
 New Mexico." 
 
 Said Sumner Eankin, " It reminds me of the 
 cabin mess of the Transit, when we went Ca- 
 noemates together, through the Everglades. Eh, 
 Worth?" 
 
 " While I," chimed in Winn Caspar, " am re- 
 
A Story of the Great Riner. 341 
 
 minded of the happy mess-table of the good ship 
 Venture, on which we Raftmates have just floated 
 for more than a thousand miles down the great 
 river." 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Mr. Manton, rising, and hold 
 ing high a glass filled with amber - colored river- 
 water, " as I seem to have become a shipmate of 
 Dorymates, Campmates, Canoemates, and Eaft- 
 mates, I am moved to propose a toast. It is, Long 
 life and prosperity, health and happiness, now and 
 forever, to all true mates. " 
 
 THE END. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY