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Show 144 TilE ADrENTURES OF IIUCiiLEBERRJ:~ FllVN. The place to buy canoes is off of raft laying up at sh~rP. But we didn't see no rafts laying up ; so we went along clurn1g three hour ancl 1nore. V\r ell, the night got gray, ancl ruther thick, which is the next meanest thing to fog. You can't tell th shape of the river, and you can't sc no distance. It got to be v ry lat and still, and then along come: a steamboat l:p the river. vYe lit i.he lantern, and judged he woulcl sec It. Up- tream boats clicln't generly com close to us; they go out and follow the bar and hunt for ea y \Vater under th rc f ; but night.· like ihi. · th y bull right up the channel again.'t the wh 1 riv r. ''r coulll hc'ar h 'r pounding alon o·, but \Y ' clicln 'i . c lH'r aood till she was clo. e. She aimed right for u . Often i hey Jo thnt and t.ry to see how close they can cotnc without tou ·hing; so1neiin1es the wheel bite off a swe p, and then the pilot stick· hi· hca<l out ancllauo·h , and thinks he's mighty mart. \\'" 11, h ~re ~he co1ne , and we . aiel sh \Va going to try to have u:; but , he didn't s m to be sheering off a, bit. She was a big one, ancl ·h \\""as coming in a hurry, too, looking like a black clou<l with rows of glow-worm around it; but all of a sudden she bulg clout, big an l scary, with a long row of wide-open furnace door shining like red-hot teeth, and her monstrous bows ancl guards hanging right over us. There was a yell at u. , and a jingling of bells to stop the engines, a pow-\vow of cussing, and whistling of steam-and as Jim went overboard on one side and I on the other, she come smashing straight through the raft. I dived-and I aitned to find the bottom, too, for a thirtyfoot wheel had got to go over me, and I wanted it to have plenty of room. I could always stay und r water a minute ; this time I reckon I taid under water a minute and a half. Then I bounced for the top in a hurry, for I \Vas nearly busting. I popped out to my arm-pits and blowed the water out of rny BTVIM1l1ING ASHOR~B. lJ5 nos , and puf£ d a bit. Of cour thcr was a booming CUlT nt ; and of cour e that boat tart d h r Dgine .-again t n cconcl · after h stopped th 1n, £ n· they never car d much for raft ·nwn; so now h wa churning alona up the riv r, out f ·ight in t h ~ thick w ather, thouah I could h ar h r. I sung out for Jim about a doz n ti1ne. , but I didn't o-f'i any an ·wer; so I grabb d a plank that touch d m whil} I was LDIHIX(l l'P TilE 1L\XK. "treauing wat r," and struck out for sh r , shoving it ahead of 1n · J~ut I made out to se that th drift of t h culT nt was towards the left-hand shore, which m ant that I was in a ero sing ; so I changed off and w nt that way. It wa. one of th long, lanting, two-mil cro sing ; o l wa.· a good long tim in g tting ov r. I mad a. safe landing, and clum up the bank.· I couldn't s e but a little way", but J L |