They had looked at one another queerly when they answered his questions.

He went forward to the wagon again.
"Brother Keaton, you're sure my father is all right ?" "I am sure he's all right, Brother Rae." Content with this, at last, he watched the farther flat shore of the Mississippi, with its low fringe of green along the edge, where they were to land and be at last out of the mob's reach.

He repeated his father's words: "Thank God, they're like all snakes; they can't jump beyond their own length." The confusion of landing and the preparations for an immediate start drove for the time all other thoughts from his mind.

It had been determined to get the little band at once out of the marshy spot where the camp had been made.

The teams were soon hitched, the wagons loaded, and the train ready to move.