Raymond S. Spears

“ Toskin. as long as he lived, would remember that woman's sudden realization of her life. At the same time he could never again look into a human countenance without divining from its hidden lines of spiritual growth, or moral decay, secrets that must disturb his own satisfaction in human companionship; for old Mississip' had lavished on him a faculty, a power and a curse of understanding, the inspiration of discovering the endurance of humanity through trifling with virtue and taking as serious the minor things of life.
Mad Tom, next of Toskin's studies, displayed another phase. ”

“ He sketched them, to their delight, for somehow he was able to give their hard, sullen faces a certain expression the source of which he did not know himself. His pencil, chalk, and even his oils laid over the sketched outlines on a canvas, all displayed that something which he studied to learn its meaning—and one day when he sketched a snag from a photograph which he had taken, he saw a likeness, a vanishing line of ripple below the snag that trailed away in an odd, convoluting, twisting incurving. ”

“ In his river studies he found the river rats of irreplacable value as advisers, for they showed him the niceties of river features, the white streak of a fisherman's new jump line on a snag, the oar pinheads of shanty boats, the service of a long handy line in throwing Young's big storeboat out of the main current into an eddy, the old-fashioned stern oar, the pretty work of a tripper who used an outboard motor to drive his shanty boat from the dead water of an eddy out into the running channel. ”

“ Toskin admitted his night of panic, and described the coming of Mad Tom, like a water-logged spirit out of the river eddy. Dona smiled, and Rillard nodded with satisfaction.
"One of Colonel Sibley's people said you were up there and probably couldn't get out," Dona explained as they all three ate breakfast together on the motor boat. "And we wanted to know about Mad Tom; he's been talking all the way down about killing Mr. Rillard, here." ”

“ THE RIVER DOES TO MEN. TWO days one another after becoming acquainted with one another Toskin and Maiton landed in the Free Bend eddy and convinced Jim Taken and Date Imsal that neither was a ghost, and that the murder boat was harmless, as yet, at least. Nevertheless, none of the river pirates would venture on board the craft, and were for a time doubtful about welcoming Maiton and Toskin on their own shaggy, questionable and faded launches and shanties.
Shortly they were going over the affairs of the river, and Maiton heard that Rillard was coming down with the Voanes. ”

“ Then, happening to look at the portrait from a little distance, all the fine touches and tiny copied strokes blended into one, and he stood amazed by the thing that he had done—the portrait of a young, beautiful and wise—far too knowing!—young woman. ”

“ Dona had shown her skill often enough for the river people to know that she could, if she dared, shoot with accurate menace.
"Shucks!" Maiton had said to the evidence of his own eyes. "She'd neveh shoot a man—a woman 'd be afeared to shoot a man. Dona shoot me? Not in a thousand years!"
Jim Taken ventured to offer a tentative warning against his easy confidence in his belief. To this Mad Tom made angry retort, and the pal subsided. They all talked freely before Toskin, and having learned what he was down the Mississippi to do, they took delight in having him draw sketches of them ”

“ Rillard!" she called. "Here is Mr. Toskin, the artist that's been with Mad Tom's pirates. They're looking for us, just as we've heard. They'll do murder—Mad Tom will. I cain't let yo'-all be killed on my account!" ”