she's married to Chess Bates, you know, at the store. Go on, Stumpy!
What boys are they?"

"I know the Turner boys and the Dickey boy is three of 'em," said
the old man, "and Henderson's own boy, Davy--poor leetle feller!--
and Buddy Hopper, and the Adams boy. They had a couple of guns, and
they was all in this boat of Hopper's, poking round the marsh, and
it began to look like rain, and got dark. Well, she was shipping a
little water, and Hopper and Adams wanted to tie her to the edge and
walk up over the marsh, but the other fellers wanted to go on round
the point. So Adams and Hopper left 'em, and come over the marsh,
and walked to the point, but she wasn't there. Well, they waited and
hallooed, but bimeby they got scared, and come flying up to
Henderson's, and Henderson and me--there ain't another man there to-
night!--we run down to the marsh, and yelled, but us two couldn't do
nothing! Tide's due at eleven, and it's going to rain, so I left
him, and come in for some men. Henderson's just about crazy! They
lost a boy in that tide-marsh a while back."

"It's too awful,--it's just murder to let 'em go there!" said Mary
Bell, heart-sick. For no dragon of old ever claimed his prey more
regularly than did the terrible pools and quicksands of the great
marsh.

Mrs. Bates was practical. Her old face blanched, but she began to
plan instantly.

"Don't cry, Mary Bell!" said she; "this thing is in God's hands. He
can save the poor little fellers jest as easy with a one-legged man
as he could with a hundred hands. You drive over to the depot,