he
swam after it. I reckon he has reached the other side of the river, and
is waiting somewhere along the bank."

A general turning of heads and peering in different directions followed,
but nothing was seen of the missing youth. Several wondered why the
reverend gentleman should have made the inquiry, when the more momentous
subject was upon all minds, but he offered no explanation.

The wind that had brought the flatboat to this point on the river, and
then died out, did not resume its force and direction. It blew gently,
but veered around from the north, so that its tendency was to drive the
craft back to the Kentucky shore. It required hard work at the sweeps to
overcome the momentum, but as the Ohio side was approached the forest
shut off and so lessened the power of the wind that the boat was forced
in close to the bank and brought to a standstill, where all could leap
ashore without difficulty.

And now had the missing child been with them all would have been as
hopeful as could have been desired. Some seven or eight miles away, and
on the same side of the river, stood the strong, rugged block-house,
where the small garrison, under charge of the veteran Captain Bushwick,
could laugh to scorn the assault of a force ten times as numerous as
that under the leadership of The Panther.

A distinctly marked trail wound along the northern branch of the Ohio,
so that it could be readily followed by the fugitives, even without the
escort of the rangers that had been sent out to their assistance.

Mr. Finley gently suggested that the two families should push on to the
block-house, leaving the others to do what they could for the help of
the child. Mr. Ashbridge, as quietly but firmly, made answer that
neither he, his son nor his wife would move a step until the fate of his
child was determined beyond all doubt. Mr. Altman, his wife and daughter
Agnes felt the same way, and the good man did not urge his proposal.

"I would probably feel and act the same if I were similarly placed," he
said, with a touch of sympathy which impressed every one. "You have the
sorrowful consolation of knowing that the suspense won't last long--"

"Ship ahoy, dar! Show yo' colors!" came in a sepulchral voice from the
shadows along shore. All recognized the tones, and before any reply
could be made Jethro Juggens paddled up against the prow in his canoe.

"Wasn't suah dat war yo' or de heathen," he added, stepping over the
gunwale and joini