Ah figur' it out 'bout dis way, sah; dat nobody kin tell yit which way we went--up de ribber, er down de ribber.

Long cum de _John B.Glover_, an' Massa Kirby he just take a chance, an' goes aboard.

De sheriff he goes der odder way, down stream in a rowboat; an' dat's how dey aims ter sure head us off." I sat down at the edge of the bluff, convinced that the conclusions of the negro were probably correct.

That was undoubtedly about how it had happened.

To attempt pursuit up stream with only oars as propelling power, would be senseless, but the passage upward of this troop boat afforded Kirby an opportunity he would not be slow to accept.