is just as well not to give them the chance. Good-by, my lad; I
hope that all will go well. But, you know, you are doing a very
risky thing; for the assisting of a runaway slave to escape is about
as serious an offense as you can commit in these parts. You might
shoot half a dozen men and get off scot free, but if you were
caught aiding a runaway to escape there is no saying what might
come of it."

After taking leave of the captain, Vincent recrossed the river and
rode home. He had friends whose fathers' estates bordered some
on the James and others on the York River, and all of these had
pleasure-boats. It was obviously better to go down the York River,
and thence round to the mouth of the James at Fortress Monroe, as
the traffic on the York was comparatively small, and it was
improbable that he would be noticed either going down or
returning. He had at first thought of hiring a fishing-boat from
some of the free negroes who made their living on the river. But
he finally decided against this; for the fact of the boat being absent
so long would attract its owner's attention, and in case any
suspicion arose that the fugitive had escaped by water, the hiring
of a boat by one who had already befriended the slave, and its
absence for so long a time, would be almost certain to cause
suspicion to be directed toward him. He therefore decided upon
borrowing a boat from a friend, and next morning rode to the
plantation of the father of Harry Furniss, this being situated on a
convenient position on the Pamunkey, one of the branches of the
York River.

"Are you using that sailing-boat of yours at present, Harry?
Because, if not, I wish you would let me have the use of it for a