Several children met me at the door, and in response to my query, summoned their mother, a very pleasant-faced woman, as I recall her, who at once seemed to know that I was in trouble. She gave me explicit directions how to find her husband. "Please tell him to come home at once, if you find him," she said. It was after 11 o'clock when I bade the lady good-night. After losing all this time, I was determined to find Marine now, if I had to traverse every street in Wilmington. Having canvassed views in the town, I had no trouble in finding the section the lady had directed me to. The place I entered was a kind of half grocery store and half saloon--the saloon, of course, being in the rear. On entering, my attention was directed to a party of four men, evidently seamen, judging from their language, who were in the front part of the store engaged in a conversation that could easily have been heard a block away. At last I felt sure I had cornered my man. It has always been my belief that I was especially blessed with the knack of making friends with a stranger, and this talent, which is the only one I think I ever possessed, had certainly had ample opportunity in my varied life to develop into an art. "Hello, mates!" I sang out, approaching the quartet with a smile--what wonders a smile will work when used right--"I'm looking for Archie Marine, fellows. Do you know where he is to-night?" Immediately one of the men stepped forward. "My name is Marine," he said, "What's up?" He had a pleasant way of speaking, and it was soon apparent that he embodied all the good qualities which the two darkies on Front street bridge had invested him with. "It's something important, Marine; come with me and I'll tell you." Without a word the man turned his back upon the jolly companions with whom he had been lately carousing, and together we left the place. We went two blocks up the street, and here, under the shelter of a drug store, I told him I wanted to get as far down the coast as Jacksonville, Fla. He said he thought he could help me do so. "The boats no longer run from here to Georgetown, S. C.," he said, "but there's a boat from Wilmington to Southport, N. C., daily for seventy-five cents, and you can easily walk across the sands from Southport to Georgetown in a day and a half. You'll not be lonesome," he added, "for there are houses every few miles, and I'll write you a note to a friend of mine in Georgetown, who'll take you to Charleston, S. C., and another note to the engineer who runs between Charleston and Jacksonville." This was great! I was to get nearly a thousand miles on my journey without incurring the risk of beating a train. The mere contemplation of beating a train seemed to stir up all the animosity in my nature towards all train officials. What! I, John R. Peele, the boy who had always been so careful at home about washing his face and keeping his clothes brushed, attempt to hide on a train, and beat his fare?