t hear it right."

"Yes, you did," replied the pilot, grinning in the darkness. "When she's
high she's swift; but she's also a hull lot straighter. Th' bends of
this river are famous, an' they add a lot of miles to her length. They
also cut down th' slant of her surface, which cuts down th' strength of
th' current. At lower water we'd have a longer distance to sail, but a
gentler current. When she rises like she is now she cuts off, over or
behind a lot of th' bends an' makes herself a straighter road. An' th'
shorter she gits, th' steeper her pitch grows, which makes a stronger
current. She jest reg'lates herself accordin' to her needs, an' she gits
shet of her floods about as quick as any river on earth. Oh, I tell you,
she's a cute one; an' a mean one, too!"

"She's shore movin' fast enough now," observed Tom, watching the
hurtling driftwood going spectrally down the almost luminous surface.
"How long will this high water last, anyhow?"

"Considerable less than th' June rise," answered the pilot. "She's
fallin' now, which is one of th' reasons we're tied to th' bank instid
of goin' on all night. This here rise is short, but meaner than sin. Th'
June rise is slower an' not so bad, though it lasts longer. It comes
from th' rains an' meltin' snow in th' mountains up above. Down here th'
current ain't as swift as it is further up, for this slope is somethin'
less than a foot to th' mile; but if it warn't for th' big bottoms, that
let some of th' water wander around awhile instid of crowdin' along all
at once, we'd have a current that'd surprise you. Jest now I figger
she's steppin' along about seven miles an hour. Durin' low water it's
some'rs around two; but I've seen it nearer ten on some rises. There are
places where steamboats can't beat th' current an' have to kedge up or
wait for lower water. About gittin' to Independence Landin', or what's
left of it, I'll tell you that when we pass Liberty Landin'. Miles
through th' water ain't miles over th' bottom, an' it's th' last that
counts. Besides, th' weather has got a lot to say about our business. I
hope you ain't gittin' chilled, Miss Cooper, this spring air cuts in
amazin' after sundown."

"I _am_ beginning to feel it," she replied, arising, "I'll say good
night, I believe, and 'turn in.'"

Tom escorted her to the lower deck and watched her cross the cabin and
enter her room, for he had no illusions about some of the men on board.
As her door closed he wheeled a