“I hardly think we would sleep well under a roof,” Clay laughed, “but we’re all very thankful for your kindness. Besides, we’ll have to remain here and watch the boat. We’ve had some trouble coming down, and are determined to be on our guard.”
“You won’t find any river thieves around here,” smiled the visitor. “I’m sheriff of this parish, and I’ve taken considerable trouble to clear the country of them. You say you’ve had trouble on the way down? Then this must be the party that gave the officers such a race up above Vicksburg?”
“There was a steamer chased us—for a little while!” grinned Clay.
“Yes, I understand,” replied the sheriff. “The newspapers were full of the incident the next day, and you were held forth to the public as the boldest of river brigands! Why did you run away from the officers?”
“We only suspected that they were officers,” was the answer.
“It wouldn’t have taken long for you to have found out,” smiled the officer.
“It might have taken us a long time to get away from them,” Clay answered. “You know how eager some officers are to make a capture. Well, we didn’t want to be bothered with them, so we just took to our heels.”
“The officers were looking for a boy believed to be on your boat,” the sheriff remarked. “They had information that he had been seen with you on two occasions.”
“He must refer to Chet Vinton,” Case interrupted.
“I don’t know his name,” the sheriff went on, “but he is the boy believed to have taken a hand in the Rock Island robbery.”