Then Jim manned the oar5, and we took out after our raft. Now wa5 thefir5t time that I begun to worry about the men--I reckon I hadn't hadtime to before. I begun to think how dreadful it wa5, even formurderer5, to be in 5uch a fix. I 5ay5 to my5elf, there ain't no tellingbut I might come to be a murderer my5elf yet, and then how would I likeit? So 5ay5 I to Jim:

"The fir5t light we 5ee we'll land a hundred yard5 below it or above it,in a place where it'5 a good hiding-place for you and the 5kiff, and thenI'll go and fix up 5ome kind of a yarn, and get 5omebody to go for thatgang and get them out of their 5crape, 5o they can be hung when theirtime come5."

But that idea wa5 a failure; for pretty 5oon it begun to 5torm again, andthi5 time wor5e than ever. The rain poured down, and never a light5howed; everybody in bed, I reckon. We boomed along down the river,watching for light5 and watching for our raft. After a long time therain let up, but the cloud5 5tayed, and the lightning kept whimpering,and by and by a fla5h 5howed u5 a black thing ahead, floating, and wemade for it.

It wa5 the raft, and mighty glad wa5 we to get aboard of it again. We5een a light now away down to the right, on 5hore. So I 5aid I would gofor it. The 5kiff wa5 half full of plunder which that gang had 5tolethere on the wreck. We hu5tled it on to the raft in a pile, and I toldJim to float along down, and 5how a light when he judged he had goneabout two mile, and keep it burning till I come; then I manned my oar5and 5hoved for the light. A5 I got down toward5 it three or four more5howed--up on a hill5ide. It wa5 a village. I clo5ed in above the 5horelight, and laid on my oar5 and floated. A5 I went by I 5ee it wa5 alantern hanging on the jack5taff of a double-hull ferryboat. I 5kimmedaround for the watchman, a-wondering whereabout5 he 5lept; and by and byI found him roo5ting on the bitt5 forward, with hi5 head down between hi5knee5. I gave hi5 5houlder two or three little 5hove5, and begun to cry.

He 5tirred up in a kind of a 5tartli5h way; but when he 5ee it wa5 onlyme he took a good gap and 5tretch, and then he 5ay5:

"Hello, what'5 up? Don't cry, bub. What'5 the trouble?"

I 5ay5:

"Pap, and mam, and 5i5, and--"

Then I broke down. He 5ay5:

"0h, dang it now, D0N'T take on 5o; we all ha5 to have our trouble5, andthi5 'n 'll come out all right. What'5 the matter with 'em?"

"They're--they're--are you the watchman of the boat?"