ll sides, and soon a crowd of a dozen men and
boys were in pursuit of Nat, who by this time had reached the street.

Nat had always been fleet of foot, and now a new fear lent strength to
his flying feet. He was accused of setting fire to the barn! Perhaps his
uncle would have him arrested and sent to prison.

"He shan't do it," he muttered. "I must get away, somehow."

Down one street after another went poor Nat, with the crowd behind him
growing steadily larger. Some thought they were after a thief, and some
a murderer, and soon two policemen joined in the chase.

Coming to an alley way, Nat darted through it to a side street, and then
around a corner to a thoroughfare leading down to the docks. This threw
the crowd off the trail for a moment, and gave him a brief breathing
spell.

Reaching the docks fronting the lake, the boy came to a halt. Not far
off was a steamboat, getting ready to cast off.

"Where does that boat go to?" he asked of a man standing near.

"That's the boat for Buffalo," was the answer.

"And when does she leave?"

"She is getting ready to leave now."

"Then that's the boat I want," came from Nat, and he rushed to the end
of the dock, and up the gangplank with all speed. A moment later the
gangplank was withdrawn, and the steamboat started on her trip down Lake
Erie.

Trembling with excitement, Nat entered the cabin, and from the window
looked back to the dock they had just left. It was not long before he
beheld Abner Balberry and several others, on the dock, gazing up and
down in perplexity. They did not know whether the boy was on the boat,
or in hiding close by.

"What a narrow escape!" thought Nat, when the dock had faded from view.
"In another minute Uncle Abner would have collared me, sure."

"Had to run pretty hard to catch the boat, didn't you?" remarked a man
sitting beside him.

"Yes," answered Nat.

"Bound for Buffalo, I suppose."

"Yes."

"First visit to that city?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's a fine city to visit, I can tell you. Of course you'll run
up to look at Niagara Falls?"

"I hadn't thought of that."

"It's not very far away, you know. The trolley cars run from Buffalo to
the Falls and back."

"Then I'll certainly have to go up and look at the Falls," answered the
boy.

He was too excited to make up his mind just what to do next, and so
walked away from the man. Finding a secluded corner of the deck, he sat
down on a camp stool to think the situation o