It was finally arranged between them that they would each take two hours of sleep at a time while the other stood watch, and Jed was the first to turn in. Finding a fairly dry spot under a tree the cook slept well until awakened by Terry, who then took his turn. In this manner they spent the night and when the morning came they felt much better, though very hungry.
“Now to find a town,” said Jed, as they started out. After walking for a half hour they came to a road and followed it into a fairly large-sized town. A sign on the railroad station told them that it was Brockport. They were lucky enough to find a restaurant open and they bought breakfast, which Terry paid for, as the cook had left all his money on the barge. Once out on the street again they paused to consider.
“There is the sheriff’s office,” said Terry, pointing to a weather-beaten place down the street. “I guess we had better report to him. Shall we go down?”
Jed, assenting, they walked into the sheriff’s office, to find the man sitting at his desk reading a morning paper. He was a keen looking man, with iron gray hair and a face that spelled outdoor life in every line.
“’Morning, boys,” he hailed, looking at them searchingly. “What can I do for you?”
Terry told his story in detail and the interest of the sheriff grew as it was unfolded. When Terry had finished he reached for a battered hat and took a shotgun from a corner.
“I’ve had a few bits of trouble with this Captain Ryder before,” he said, grimly. “And I’m goin’ to get him now, if that barge is still stuck on that flat. Do you think that you can find your way back? If you can’t, we can go up the river bank.”
Realizing that they had turned and twisted in their flight on the previous evening the two told the sheriff that they were not sure that they could, so he decided to lead them up the river bank.
“I think that is the best way, after all,” explained Sheriff Atkins. “They may have gotten the barge afloat and we may see them coming down. I hope we get them. If we do I’ll lock them all up on your charge and others that I have.”
They gained the river bank and followed it up in the direction from which the boys had come. It was a good five miles to the point where the sand bar jutted out, and as they rounded a bend they could see the barge still stuck in the mud.