118 LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.
arise. 1 toH the girl a good many of my river adventures, and made
myself out a good deal of a hero \ Tom tried to make himself appear
to be a hero, too, and succeeded to some extent, hut then he always
had a way of embroidering. However, virtue is its own reward, so I
was a barely perceptible trifle ahead in the contest. About this time
something happened which promised handsomely for me : the pilots
decided to sound the crossing at the head of 21. This would occur
about nine or ten o'clock at night, when the passengers would be still
up; it would be Mr. Thornburg's watch, therefore my chief would
have to do the sounding. We had a perfect love of a sounding-boat
—long, trim, graceful, and as fleet as a greyhound; her thwarts were
cushioned j she carried twelve oarsmen j one of the mates was always
sent in her to transmit orders to her crew, for ours was a steamer
where no end of * style' was put on.
"We tied up at the shore above 21, and got ready. It was a foul
night, and the river was so wide there, that a landsman's uneducated
eyes could discern no opposite shore through such a gloom. The pas-
sengers were alert and interested; everything was satisfactory. As I
hurried through the engine-room, pictitresquely gotten up in storm
toggery, 1 met Tom, and could not forbear delivering myself of a mean
speech—
* Ain't you glad you don't have to go out sounding 1'
Tom was passing on, but he quickly turned, and said—
' K"ow just for that, you can go and get the sounding-pole your-
self. I was going after it, but Pd see you in Halifax, now, before I'd
do it.'
*Who wants you to get it? I don't. It's in the sounding-
boat.'
' It ain't, either. It's been new-painted; and it's been up on the
ladies' cabin guards two days, drying.'
I flew back, and shortly arrived among the crowd of watching and
•wondering ladies just in time to hear the command:
• Give way, men ! *
I looked over, and there was the gallant sounding-boat booming
away, the unprincipled Tom presiding at the tiller, and my chief
sitting by him with the sounding-pole which I had been sent on a
fool's errand to fetch. Then that voting girl said to me—