This watch brought no results, except to convince me that Kirby and his party still remained aboard.

So far as I could perceive, no attempt to depart was made by anyone, excepting a big fellow with a red moustache, who swore profanely as he struggled through the mud, dragging a huge valise.
The situation puzzled and confused me.

What choice would Kirby and the deputy make?
If once up Rock River the _Adventurer_ might very likely not return for weeks, and it did not seem to me possible that the impatient gambler would consent to such a delay.

Every advance northward brought with it a new danger of exposure.

These were Illinois troops to be transported--not regulars, but militia, gathered from a hundred hamlets--and many among them would be open enemies of slavery.