And now to think the OTHER one's aboard, too! Oh, ain't it
hard luck, boys--ain't it hard! But you'll help save me, WON'T you?--oh,
boys, be good to a poor devil that's being hunted to death, and save
me--I'll worship the very ground you walk on!"

We turned in and soothed him down and told him we would plan for him
and help him, and he needn't be so afeard; and so by and by he got to
feeling kind of comfortable again, and unscrewed his heelplates and held
up his di'monds this way and that, admiring them and loving them; and
when the light struck into them they WAS beautiful, sure; why, they
seemed to kind of bust, and snap fire out all around. But all the same I
judged he was a fool. If I had been him I would a handed the di'monds to
them pals and got them to go ashore and leave me alone. But he was made
different. He said it was a whole fortune and he couldn't bear the idea.

Twice we stopped to fix the machinery and laid a good while, once in
the night; but it wasn't dark enough, and he was afeard to skip. But the
third time we had to fix it there was a better chance. We laid up at
a country woodyard about forty mile above Uncle Silas's place a little
after one at night, and it was thickening up and going to storm. So Jake
he laid for a chance to slide. We begun to take in wood. Pretty soon the
rain come a-drenching down, and the wind blowed hard. Of course every
boat-hand fixed a gunny sack and put it on like a bonnet, the way they
do when they are toting wood, and we got one for Jake, and he slipped
down aft with his hand-bag and come tramping forrard just like the rest,
and walked ashore with them, and when we see him pass out of the light
of the torch-basket and get swallowed up in the dark, we got our breath
again and just felt grateful and splendid. But it wasn't for long.
Somebody told, I reckon; for in about eight or ten minutes them two pals
come tearing forrard as tight as they could jump and darted ashore and
was gone. We waited plumb till dawn for them to come back, and
kept hoping they would, but they never did. We was awful sorry and
low-spirited. All the hope we had was that Jake had got such a start
that they couldn't get on his track, and he would get to his brother's
and hide there and be safe.

He was going to take the river road, and told us to find out if Brace
and Jubiter was to home and no strangers there, and then slip out about
sundown and tell him. Said he would wait for us in a little bun