therefore, to feel the cooler air that swept along
the river, above whose brown waters a thin
transparent mist, like a veil of bluish gauze, rose
in irregular folds. The tall monotonous levée,
built to keep out the stream from the rich
plantations, could alone be seen to the eastward,
but the western bank was fringed by the dark
trees of the solemn forest, whence came at
intervals the cry of night-birds, and the low whine
of a wolf prowling for prey. The whooping of
the great goat-sucker, with its strange note that
fancy has rendered into the words "Willy—
come—go," was answered by a hoarse whistling
cry from the cayman among the reeds. As we
floated on, I could see in the bright moonlight
the hideous form of more than one alligator
lying loglike on the surface. In the deep
thickets the fire-flies and fire-beetles shone like a
million tiny lamps. What was that? The
hooting of an owl, twice repeated, and so near
that I looked round, startled, but no bird was
visible. However, a human form emerged from
the shadow of the bulwarks, and the voice of
Dr. 'Muly Cook said at my elbow,

"Pleasanter here, Mr. Harding, than down
in that hot cabin." And he, too, looked out, as
if musing on the tranquil beauty of the prospect.
Gradually we got into conversation on indifferent
topics, and I discovered that the storekeeper,
of whose character I had formed no very
exalted estimate, was both a better bred and
a more thoughtful man than I had taken him to
be. It was notable, too, that his nasal accent
was no longer prominent, and in the gentle
quiet personage who spoke with so much artistic
perception of the effects of light and shade on
the water's edge, and on the leafy grandeur of
the southern forest, I hardly recognised the
unscrupulous partisan of union at any price.

Dr. Cook was making some remarks on the
wealth of parasitic vegetation, the bush vine,
the Spanish moss, and the other creepers that
hung in endless profusion from the giant trees
on our right, when the low cry of the goat-
sucker, coming to all appearance from the boat
astern, made him start and break off in the midst
of a sentence. Then with a muttered apology
he left me, and returned to the cabin.

I remained alone. The mists were beginning
to rise more thickly from the broad seething
river, and the bright moonlight could scarcely
pierce the rolling wreaths of fog. On board, I
heard nothing but the sound of the steamer's
bell, as the sentry struck it to mark the
prescribed interval, but the fiddle was hushed, and
no more din of joyous voices came from the
forecastle. The party in the cabin, too, had
become silent, and I only heard the panting of
the engine as the gunboat made her way along
the bends of the endless river. We were now
in a very lonely part of our course. Short of
Baton Rouge and Port Hudson there were no
places of note, and the levees lay stretching
drearily for leagues and leagues without a sign
of life being visible.

Suddenly I became aware of a low murmuring
sound, like the hum of bees stirring in their
hive, and which seemed to come from the laden
flat boats astern. The sound swelled and
deepened, and seemed to approach, and I could
distinguish the buzz of many voices speaking
together in an under tone, and with this was
mingled a faint splashing of water. The
towrope beside me grated on the planking of the
deck, as it was violently jerked, and it was
evident that something unusual was taking place.
My first idea was that the barges had been
suddenly dashed against snags or floating timber, or
had sprung a leak, and I was in the act of
stepping forward to give an alarm, to the sailors
of the watch, when a dark form seemed to rise,
as it were, out of the mists of the river, and a
man came scrambling with cat-like activity over
the poop bulwarks beside me, and in a moment
more I felt a bony hand clutch me by the throat,
while a drawn bayonet was levelled at my breast.
By the moonlight I could see, to my amazement,
that this unexpected assailant was one of
the coloured soldiers on duty in the cotton-
boats.

"Ef you stir an eyelash, ef you speak above
your breath, I'll drive the cold iron through
your hump ribs, jest as I would through a calf
buffler on the pararas," said the man, in a fierce
whisper, but in a voice that I knew could belong
to no negro, I stood still and mute, of course,
while a number of other figures came pouring
over the taffrail, dropping from the rigging, and
clambering over the sides of the vessel, but all
this was so quickly and noiselessly done, that
the portion of the Mohawk's crew on deck
remained unconscious of what was going on.

"Who are you? Speak, you Yankee rascal!"
hissed my captor, relaxing his grasp a little.
Half choked and startled as I was, I still made
shift to give a tolerably lucid account of my
own identity, but before I had said a dozen
words, a gaunt fellow in a red shirt and cavalry
overalls came shouldering through the group,
and put his bearded face close to mine.

"Whoop! boys, all he says is true enough.
He's the British doctor we pressed into the
service up on the Yazoo, and the Yankees tukhim.
Loose him, Jem!"

The speaker's wish was complied with, but he
had raised his voice incautiously, and the helmsman
started and looked clown from his perch in
the wheel-house, shouting out, "Hilloa, there,
what's afoot now? Watch ahoy! Treachery!"

Bang went a pistol by way of answer, and the
steersman fell groaning, while a clamour of
voices succeeded. The sentry started forward
and levelled his musket at the intruders, but the
piece missed fire, and the watch were in a
moment overpowered, beaten to the deck, and
bound hand and foot by the enemy, who far
outnumbered them, since fresh assailants scrambled
up at every moment from the cotton-boats to
join in the fray. I was carried off my feet by
the rush that ensued, and soon found myself in
the cabin, spectator of a scene which, in my
bewilderment, I could only partially comprehend.

Captain Hopkins, foaming with rage, was a