At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 89: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

78 AT A GIRL’S MERCY. tinel passed quietly out of earshot on his beat, and the danger was passed. “Tinkum’’ was the password to the waiting boat, and one by one they stepped down from the bank and into the float, and pushed off from shore. The oars were muffled by their jackets, which were taken off for the purpose, and silently they glided down the river with the wind against the tide that was flowing slowly in. Now and then a sudden noise on the bank would bring the oars to rest, and they would listen tremb- ling and exhausted until the after silence proved the danger past. Midnight passed, the wee, small hours of the morning were rising over the world. Daylight was coming, and with it would come dan- ger, unless they could hasten and gain the Federal camp before it reached them. , Sounds near and startling began to disturb the si- lence, and made the fugitives fear at every step they gained lest some one hidden in the thickets should discover them and they should be lost. The sharp crack of arifle woke the low echoes; the cry of some night bird answered the ringing report; the ripple of the water against the boat sounded like the roar of cannon to the excited ears of the runaways. But they passed down the river on their way-to Fortress Monroe, where they hoped to be helped on their way, for, like most of the slaves shut on the plantations, they knew absolutely nothing about the way to travel nor how to find the way. By and by the sounds on shore came closer; they seemed to draw nearer the shore and drift with the wind and the tide that had turned, and was bearing them slowly on their way. A sentry was pacing up and down, they could almost touch him as he passed EomiIcbooks.co