Page:Raymond Spears--Diamond Tolls.djvu/62

 "Served the law on him—then what?"

"He coughed, and went on through the boat, and into the river," she said. "I didn't see nor hear him again. I just—well, I didn't care! I took his boat, and here it is"

"You'd better not stay here with it." Mrs. Mahna shook her head. "We'll all drop down the river to Tiptonville Chute, or somewhere. When you've shot a man, you always want to just move up or down a bit. Course, in this lonely reach, it don't matter, really. But you kind of want to get used to going on a bit. Roy!"

The youth, who had returned to the other shantyboat, called an answer.

"We're going to drop on down again—night trip a bit. Get up that anchor and pull over here, and cut us loose. Hitch them boats together, ourn outside the cruiser, so's they'll tow. Put on the lights d'rectly."

Mrs. Mahna returned to Delia's cabin, and sat down in a motherly way.

"I just knowed you all was a soft-paw doing this away," the river woman asserted. "You didn't pull a clean stroke with the oars, kind of crabbing them. But shucks! That's nothing; lots of girls comes down here as soft and sissy as a lady-daisy, but when they tie in to N'Orleans, I tell you, they mostly