bank, the number lying
on alternate sides, Jack removed his clothing and letting himself over
the stern, plunged into the cool, refreshing current, where he dove,
frolicked, sported, and enjoyed himself to the full--his happiness such
that he could hardly refrain from shouting for very joy. He kept this up
as long as prudent, when he clambered into the boat again, donned his
clothing, floated a short distance further, and shot the craft into land
with a force that held it fast.

A brief calculation will show that the boy had gone something more than
a mile from the Indian village, and he had secured what may well be
termed a winning lead; but much still remained to be done. He was now
about to leave the element where even the trained bloodhound would be at
fault, and step upon the land, where the keen eye of the Sauk warrior
would follow his footprints with the surety of fate itself. Hence it
depended on his covering up the tell-tale trail, unless chance, against
which no one can guard, should direct his pursuers to it.

Both shores of the stream were covered with forest which grew to the
edge of the water. In some places there was undergrowth which overhung
the river, but it was not very plentiful. The position of the moon in
the sky was such that most of the time the middle of the stream
reflected its light, while the shores were in shadow. These looked
indescribably gloomy, and but for bounding spirits which set the whole
being of the lad aglow, he would have been oppressed to an unbearable
degree. The course of the river for the first mile was remarkably
straight, but it made a sweeping bend just before Jack ran his canoe
into shore. His aim now was to quit the water without leaving any
tell-tale traces behind. If he stepped ashore and walked away never so
carefully, he would fail to do what was absolutely necessary. He
believed he accomplished his purpose, by running the boat under some
overhanging undergrowth, where he laboriously pulled it up the bank,
until it could not be seen by any one passing up or down stream, and
could be found by no one moving along the shore itself, unless he paused
and made search at the exact spot. The probability of any Indian doing
such a thing, it will be conceded, was as unlikely as it could be.

But, on the other hand, the first step the fugitive took would leave an
impression which would tell the whole story, and it now depended on the
manner in which he overcame that special