At any rate, if Tom had known the cause of the delay, he would freely have forgiven him for wasting his time in healthful precautions.
The fugitive retraced his steps to the river by the same route he had taken in approaching the hospitable roof of the farmer.

As nearly as he could judge by the sounds that reached him from the distance, the officer and his father were gathering up a force to hunt down the fugitive.

Tom jumped into the bateau, and pushed off.

Keeping under the shadow of the bank of the river, he plied his paddle vigorously, and by the time his pursuers arrived at the river, he was a couple of miles from the spot.

He could hear a shout occasionally in the deep silence of the night, but with the distance between him and the enemy, he felt entirely secure.