ern, Dan read
a chapter from his Testament, and then all of them knelt around the
grave. No audible prayers were repeated, but the hearts of these
sincere mourners were filled with the spirit of prayer; and He who wants
no vain words to praise Him, accepted the solemn but silent service.

The grave was filled, and the fugitives used all their ingenuity to
conceal the broken ground, that it might not betray them to the ruthless
slave-hunters, who might soon visit the spot. With sad hearts they
returned to the camp. Dan was nearly exhausted by the fatigue and
anxiety of the last two days; but he could not sleep while there was any
thing to be done to prepare for the expected visit of the slave-hunters.
His first care was to put all the arms and ammunition in readiness. He
then showed Lily how to load a gun, that she might assist them in the
defence.

On the islands they had collected a great quantity of logs, to serve
them for fuel during the winter. These were carried upon the deck of the
Isabel, and so arranged as to form a kind of breastwork, to shield the
boys from the bullets of the enemy. By noon on the following day, every
thing that could be thought of to conceal or defend the camp had been
done. They were ready for the slave-hunters then, and if Quin had only
been with them, they would have felt confident of the result of an
attack.

In the afternoon Dan was so worn out that he could endure no more, and
at Lily's urgent request he went below, and was soon asleep. Cyd was
fully alive to the necessities of the occasion. He kept his eyes and
ears wide open, but he neither saw nor heard any thing that indicated
the approach of an enemy. Lily, though very much alarmed, was as
resolute as her companions; for she knew and felt what slavery would be
if its shackles were again fastened upon her. She was a gentle, timid,
shrinking girl; but she was determined to die rather than be restored to
the tyranny of her capricious mistress, and the more terrible fate which
would eventually overtake her.

The long, gloomy night that followed passed away, the anxious watchers
still keeping vigil by turns upon the deck of the Isabel. The next day,
while Lily was keeping watch, both Dan and Cyd being asleep in the
cabin, she heard the dip of oars in the bayou. Her heart beat a furious
tattoo against her ribs, and she almost sank with horror, as she
listened to the sounds which indicated the approach of the dreaded
enemy. It was he