“Ah suah will,” replied the negro. “Dem pirates,” he continued, “has a nes’ nex’ de big bend Ah been dere many a time. You go more ’n forty miles aroun’ de ben’ an’ you go ten miles across.”
“Aw!” laughed Alex. “There isn’t any such bend on the Ohio river in this vicinity. There’s a bend below here that makes a circuit of about ten or twelve miles to get one mile downstream.”
“Ah don’ know ’bout no miles,” Uncle Zeke answered. “Ah know ’bout dat pirate’s nes’ at de horseshoe ben’.”
“Can you get across the neck in a rowboat?” asked Clay.
“Ah suah can,” was the reply.
“You didn’t know, did you, that the boat you have is one that belonged to our motor boat? We lost it a ways up the river.”
“Ah done gib two yaller-legged hens for dat boat,” insisted Uncle Zeke. “Ah buy it of a black nigger.”
“Well, I suppose it was abandoned property, anyway,” Clay said, “so we’ll pay you for it if we find that we need it again.”
CHAPTER XXI.—FATE TAKES A TRICK.
Left alone in the thicket at the head of the cove, Case and Jule waited for some time for the appearance of Captain Joe. While not actually afraid of any attack upon themselves in that quiet place, they much preferred leaving the bulldog on watch when they went to sleep.