"Yes, Maud. Only be a good little girl, and do as I tell you."
"And you won't let that ugly woman take me away?"
"No; we will hide you away from her. Did she treat you badly?"
"Yes; she shook me, and said she would whip me. She said she was my aunt; but it isn't true."
"Who brought you to her?"
Maud thereupon described the man whom we know as Brown, the abler one of the confederates who had stolen the ferry-boat.
"I wonder whether our boat is gone?" said Bob.
"Mebbe we can see from the hill," suggested Clip.
There was a small elevation near by. Bob ascended it, and looked towards the point where his boat had been tied up. There was no sign of it. It had disappeared. Though still early, Brown and Minton, fearing interference, had cut loose about four o'clock, and were, by this time, several miles on their way to the great city.
"It's gone, Clip," said Bob, sadly.