avy root of the fallen giant, just covered by the water, caught
the little craft, and caused it to careen so violently that one man was
thrown into the water. As she righted, another man went in.

"Confound it!" growled the captain, who was leaning out of the
pilot-house window. "I hope they can swim, still, 'tain't as bad as it
would be if we had any more cargo to take aboard."

"It's the Chums," remarked the pilot, who had brought a glass to bear
upon the boat.

"Thunder!" exclaimed the captain, striking a bell. "Below there! Lower
away another boat--lively!" Then, turning to the passengers, he
exclaimed: "Nobody on the river'd forgive me if I lost the Chums.
'Twould be as bad as Barnum losing the giraffe."

The occupants of the first boat were evidently of the captain's own
mind, for they were eagerly peering over her side, and into the water.

Suddenly the pilot dropped his glass, extemporized a. trumpet with both
hands, and shouted:

"Forrard--forrard! One of 'em's up!" Then he put, his mouth to the
speaking-tube, and screamed to the engineer: "Let her drop down a
little, Billy!"

The sounding party headed toward a black speck, apparently a hundred
yards below them, and the great steamer slowly drifted down-stream. The
speck moved toward shore, and the boat, rapidly shortening distance,
seemed to scrape the bank with her port oars.

"Safe enough now, I guess!" exclaimed Judge Turner, of one of the
Southern Illinois circuits.

The Judge had been interrupted in telling a story when the accident
occurred, and was in a hurry to resume.

"As I was saying," said he, "he hardly looked like a professional
horse-thief. He was little and quiet, and had always worked away
steadily at his trade. I believed him when he said 'twas his first
offense, and that he did it to raise money to bury his child; and I was
going to give him an easy sentence, and ask the Governor to pardon him.
The laws have to be executed, you know, but there's no law against mercy
being practiced afterward. Well, the sheriff was bringing him from jail
to hear the verdict and the sentence, when the short man, with red hair,
knocked the sheriff down, and off galloped that precious couple for the
Wabash. I saw the entire--"

"The deuce!" interrupted the pilot, again dropping his glass.

The Judge glared angrily; the passengers saw, across the shortened
distance, one of the Chums holding by a root to the bank, and trying to
support the other, wh