Raymond S. Spears

“ Here in ten or twelve years the Mississippi River had carried away by caving bends, more than ten million dollars’ worth of land, destroying thousands of acres of cotton fields and ruining the hopes, if not destroying the lives, of hundreds of people. ”

“ While citizens in Helena loaded the steamer and prepared it for the cruise, Kalas searched the bottoms by telegraph and telephone; but when he returned to the boys on the levee, he could give them only half-good news.
"Your father and mother are coming down to get the shanty-boat," he told Sibley, "but it probably will take some time to get them through. If I can make connections right, they’ll catch a government boat that is coming down to help just below Memphis, and they’ll have to take their chances about getting through from there to Helena." ”

“ Jimmy stammered. "Reward for Jep!"
"Looks like!" Kalas remarked, glancing at Sibley, who read the notice.
"Why, that’s our baby!" Sibley declared angrily. "Jep’s got a right to him! We found him first!"
"Let’s see," Kalas calculated: "that is dated April sixth, and we are two hundred and seventy miles below there. If he’s on the run and in a hurry he’ll make seventy miles a day. You can look for him any time now!"
The three looked up the river, and there was no place where a better view of the majestic flow could be had than from the Helena levee crest. ”

“ Jimmy blinked with surprise, and Sibley chuckled. The absence of the baby-carriage had revealed a definite clue as to where to look for the missing brother and baby.
"I don’t know whether we’d better give Memphis a clue like that or not," Kalas reflected, after a minute. "If Jep’s ashore, he’s probably all right. I don’t think he’s having fair play, when they offer a reward for him because they want that baby. I think you’d better go up to Memphis, Sib, and meet your folks there. I’ll have this cabin-boat put in with the government fleet here, under our watchman. ”

“ I don’t know whether it can be saved or not. But you are river people. We’ll look out for one another, won’t we?"
"Yes, sir!" the boys declared in unison.
Then, when Kalas had notified Mr. and Mrs. Carruth that Sibley would meet them at Memphis, he and the boys parted. The steamer with Kalas on board drew out from the eddy with its company of specialists, and at the same time Sibley and Jimmy started up-stream in their launch, bucking the current. Kalas, in the pilot-house of the steamer, blew the whistle, and Jimmy blew the launch signal. ”