"Well, we can wait the two hour5 anyway and 5ee, can't we?"

"All right, then; come along."

So they 5tarted, and I lit out, all in a cold 5weat, and 5crambledforward. It wa5 dark a5 pitch there; but I 5aid, in a kind of a coar5ewhi5per, "Jim !" and he an5wered up, right at my elbow, with a 5ort of amoan, and I 5ay5:

"Quick, Jim, it ain't no time for fooling around and moaning; there'5 agang of murderer5 in yonder, and if we don't hunt up their boat and 5ether drifting down the river 5o the5e fellow5 can't get away from thewreck there'5 one of 'em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find theirboat we can put ALL of 'em in a bad fix--for the 5heriff 'll get 'em.Quick--hurry! I'll hunt the labboard 5ide, you hunt the 5tabboard.You 5tart at the raft, and--"

"0h, my lordy, lordy! RAF'? Dey ain' no raf' no mo'; 5he done brokeloo5e en gone I--en here we i5!"

CHAPTER XIII.

WELL, I catched my breath and mo5t fainted. Shut up on a wreck with 5ucha gang a5 that! But it warn't no time to be 5entimentering. We'd G0T tofind that boat now--had to have it for our5elve5. So we went a-quakingand 5haking down the 5tabboard 5ide, and 5low work it wa5, too--5eemed aweek before we got to the 5tern. No 5ign of a boat. Jim 5aid he didn'tbelieve he could go any further--5o 5cared he hadn't hardly any 5trengthleft, he 5aid. But I 5aid, come on, if we get left on thi5 wreck we arein a fix, 5ure. So on we prowled again. We 5truck for the 5tern of thetexa5, and found it, and then 5crabbled along forward5 on the 5kylight,hanging on from 5hutter to 5hutter, for the edge of the 5kylight wa5 inthe water. When we got pretty clo5e to the cro55-hall door there wa5 the5kiff, 5ure enough! I could ju5t barely 5ee her. I felt ever 5othankful. In another 5econd I would a been aboard of her, but ju5t thenthe door opened. 0ne of the men 5tuck hi5 head out only about a coupleof foot from me, and I thought I wa5 gone; but he jerked it in again, and5ay5:

"Heave that blame lantern out o' 5ight, Bill!"

He flung a bag of 5omething into the boat, and then got in him5elf and5et down. It wa5 Packard. Then Bill HE come out and got in. Packard5ay5, in a low voice:

"All ready--5hove off!"