The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi; Or, On the Trail to the Gulf

oon, having started about 8 o'clock. He procured the supplies for which he

k to the Rambler to-night, or shall

ery short time. At 1 o'clock he started back to the motor boat. At 5 o'clock, jus

and the river were dimly seen through a slight mist. The boy stoo

nto motion with the parts missing! The boys would never attempt to drift down, fo

tanding the peril of the undertaking, they would never have gone aw

ich Alex. and Jule had left half concealed in a tangle of bushes in a little bay. Before him, then, lay the old hou

in time the sounds which the two boys had noted. He crouched down in a patch of

ding-place and the house were shaken violently, and a small figure darted o

most extraordinary calliope possibilities! He runs like the Old Scratch was

icket where Case had secreted himself. Here he stumbled over a trailing vine and

ve all the pirates in the state steerin

go!" wailed Mose. "Dar's ghostes in d

g the frightened lad a gentle shake to bring

gro. "Piruts don' got de boat, an' d

's going on," Case declared, "I'll thro

ing through the bushes. He stopped by Case's

what's going on," Case said, reprovingly

at morning, of his being thrown overboard, with the dog, of his day of wandering, hungry and afraid,

d Captain Joe to a window from which the sound of voices had issued. The dog had leaped in, after he had pulled away the rotten

shadows which lay heavy on the landscape, for a moo

om the windows and pistol shots were heard. Getting one sniff of the acrid smell of powder, Mose leaped to his feet and bounded away again.

called Case.

ex. "Get to the boat! Wher

tains by this time," Case replied, fallin

led their efforts to reach the boat before any one else could get to it. Now

ow it across with one oar. The boys did not wait for him to return to the bank, but plunged into the water a

d the helm. They were soon proceeding down the bayou at a rapid rate of spe

you full of air holes!" s

s of clouds. Taking advantage of this, and sitting as low in the boat as possible in order to avoid the bullets which were comin

river and the bayou, was now in darkness. When the moon came out again it stood silent and solitary in i

a bend and the house was no longer in sight.

manded Alex. "We ought to

capture of the motor boat. There was silence for a moment

d drift down that surging river, cluttered with driftwood as it was, without meeting

d. "The pirate threw them off the Rambler! Well, he did a good job when he did

oking Captain Joe's wet head, grinned and de

discovered in the grounds!" Jule remarked. "I

pirates would come and get him that he lay in the bushes wit

e tried to explain, in perfectly good dog talk, that he wasn't fr

tudy out some plan to get to Clay. We can't dodge the

ued. "The pirates can't run the Rambler up stre

ten hours the star

. They will probably go far enough to get out of the zone of pursuit and

judgment!"

mass of wreckage which lay before her. "When we come to the bend just ahead we're likely to be pu

pt toward the east shore with almost resistless forc

head!" cried Jule, as t

bers, had been caught by the flood and whirled down stream. The boys backed water,

the cracking sound which followed told of an injury to the c

umbled, in a sarcastic tone, as the boat lurche

nyway!" shouted Jule. "W

n to dump us into the d

w and looked longingly toward the bobbing timber raft

have!" Alex. exclaimed. "We'll have to ta

!" urged Case. "The moon

n the boat. The current was pressing the craft down against the timbe

get out a light. We've got to make a jump

is electric, but A

looks to me like the cabin windows of the Rambler were se