Th' only thing 't 'd
prevent that lad gettin' ashore'd be his gettin' killed--not drowned,
but _killed_."
"You don't mean murdered?" Tom asked.
"Well, if they was swamped by the big night boat, an' he got mixed up
with the paddle wheel, I don't know if ye'd call it murder, but it'd be
killin', sure enough. Leastways, they never got him, an' it's my belief
he was chopped up. Take a tip from me, you boys, an' look out fer the
night boat, 'cause the night boat ain't a-goin' t' look out fer you."
The girl, strolling back, put an end to their talk, but it was clear
that she, too, must have been thinking of that fatal night, for her eyes
were red and she seemed less vivacious.
"You must be careful," said she, "there are a good many accidents on the
river. My father told me to tell you you'd better not do much traveling
at night. I want to see you on board, and then I must go home," she
added.
She held out her hand and Roy, who was in this instance best suited to
speak for the three, grasped it.
"There's no use trying to thank you and your father," he said. "If you'd
given us some little thing we could thank you, but it seems silly to say
just the same thing when we have a thing like this given to us, and yet
it seems worse for us to go away without saying anything. I guess you
know what I mean."
"You must promise to be careful--can you all swim?"
"We are scouts," laughed Roy.
"And that means you can do anything, I suppose."
"No, not that," Roy answered, "but we do want to tell you how much we
thank you--you and your father.
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