k woman hesitated, shaking her head. Old Sarah for a while
was silent, and then yielded:

"'Yo' po' sick chile, yo' knows Sarah Angeline can't 'fuse yo' nuffin'
when yo' mo' and mo' 'zembles my Mandy Car'line ebery bressed minit,
lookin' so pleadin' in her ole black mudder's eyes just 'fo' she died!'

"After many solemn warnings, 'nevah to say nuffin' to nobody, nevah,
nevah!' the old negress told all she knew about how I came to be at this
den in a London suburb.

"There had been a robbery in the city. Suspicion fell on two rough
characters. These, with their girl companions, for several months had
occupied this same two-room cabin.

"Old Sarah had been installed as housekeeper for the four, and received
quite good pay. She knew they were bad characters, but needed the money
for her children and invalid husband, living in the same neighborhood.

"The four had been up the river, and were returning downstream. They saw
two persons sitting near the bank. Fearing that these were spies upon
their track, the men permitted the boat to drift past this point. Both
forms on the shore seemed to rise and stand. The four were now past, a
few rods downstream. They moved very slowly, all cautiously looking at
the two on the shore. Just then a third form was visible. All saw a
knife glisten in the moonlight, followed by a blow and thrust. The two
fell into the river, sinking out of sight.

"The men quickly rowed toward the point of the stream where the bodies
sank. Several rods down something gripped one of the oars. A face
appeared above the water. The hands held that oar, until the girl was
drawn into the boat. Nothing was seen of the other who had fallen into
the stream.

"Now convinced that these were not spies, the four rowed up and down
past this point, but seeing no signs, concluded to abandon the search.
With the girl lying unconscious in bottom of the boat, rowing downstream
for some distance, they landed on the opposite side of the river.
Efforts to revive her were successful, but she relapsed again into an
unconscious state.

"The two men advised leaving her there, and that no one say anything
about what they had seen or done. They were suspected of this robbery.
This incident would make them notorious. The girl would die, anyhow.

"This plan was about to be adopted when voices were heard down the
stream. The men, followed by the girls, rapidly bore me to an old,
abandoned shed, about one hundred rods from shore.