Jess of the Rebel Trail | Page 7

he was on his knees, scrubbing the floor of the little cabin and
humming
"Here I'll raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy grace I'll come,"
when a form darkened the narrow doorway overhead.
Then followed a scream of fright, and before he had hardly time to look
around she was lying by his side, a confused heap of silk, lace, and
flowing dark-brown hair.

"Well, I'll be jiggered!" Samuel exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.
"What in time----?"
A merry laugh interrupted him, as the girl sprang lightly to her feet,
arranged her disordered dress, and brushed back her hair.
"My! that was a surprise," she remarked, glancing at the steps down
which she had just tumbled. "I didn't know they were there."
"Ye didn't, eh?" and Samuel looked curiously at his unexpected visitor.
"Thought ye was walkin' into a parlour, I s'pose."
"Do you own this boat?" the girl suddenly and somewhat anxiously
asked.
"Well, I thought I did, Miss, until you arrived, but now I ain't quite
sartin. I feel somethin' like Bill Slocum said he did when a bear
dropped in on him one night when he was campin' out on his back
medder."
"What did he do?"
"Oh, Bill, jist lit out an' left the bear in charge, the same as any sensible
man would do."
"I hope you do not compare me to a bear," and the girl smiled.
"No, I wouldn't like to do that, Miss. But ye must have had some
mighty good reason fer comin' down them steps the way ye did. It's a
wonder to me yer neck wasn't broken."
"I have a good reason," was the emphatic reply. "I am running away."
"Runnin' away!" Samuel's eyes opened wide in amazement, and he
stared hard at the girl. He would have been less than human if his pulse
had not quickened, and his heart beat faster, for she was truly possessed
of more than ordinary beauty and grace of figure. Her large dark
expressive eyes betrayed anxiety, and her cheeks were flushed. Once
she gave a slight start and glanced nervously up the steps as if

expecting to see someone following her.
"Yes, I am running away," she repeated, "and I want you to hide me on
this boat."
"Runnin' away, an' want me to hide ye!" Samuel ran his fingers through
his hair, a sure sign of his perplexity. "Ye ain't been stealin' or
murderin' anybody, have ye?"
"No, no; it's not so bad as that. But it might be suicide, though, if you
don't help me. And you will, won't you?" she pleaded, turning her eyes
full upon the captain's face.
The latter made no immediate reply. He picked up his pail and set it
carefully aside. He then unrolled the turned-up sleeves of his coarse
shirt, and deliberately buttoned them about his thick hairy wrists,
"Set down, Miss," he at length ordered, motioning to the only chair the
cabin contained. "Thar, that's better," he said as the girl immediately
obeyed. "Sorry me accommodations are so poor, but then this ain't no
ocean liner. She's nuthin' but an old woodboat, an' not much of a place
fer receivin' the likes of you."
"But I think it's fine," the girl replied, "and I know you will let me stay
here for a while. You need a woman to look after this cabin, and I will
wash and cook for you."
"Ye will!"
"Certainly. If you will only let me stay, I think you will find me quite
useful."
"H'm, queer work you'd do in them dandy togs. An' besides, this craft
can't afford to keep up much style. I s'pose ye'd want clean linen on the
table every day, to say nuthin' of napkins, an' sich gear. No, I'm afraid
ye'd prove too expensive fer the 'Eb an' Flo.' I've been cook here fer so
long that I wouldn't know what to do with a woman around. Martha
tried it once, but a week was enough fer her, so she got out. Said she

couldn't stand me housekeepin' methods."
"Who is Martha?" the girl asked.
"Oh, she's me wife, an' runs things ashore. Her an' Flo do all right thar,
but me an' Eb feel more at home on the water, with no women buttin'
in."
"Is Flo your daughter?"
"Sure. An' Eb's me son. Jist the two, so I named this craft after 'em, ye
see, Eb an' Flo sounds about right to my way of thinkin'. When yer
boatin' on this river ye have to be allus considerin' the ebb an' flow of
the tide, so the name is quite handy."
"It certainly is," and the girl smiled. "I am sure I shall like it. Where is
your son now?"
"Oh, he's ashore gittin' some molasses an' other stuff from the store.