"Yes," the other answered, "this holds the stuff they carried off, and which Mr. Gregory, the president of that Waverly bank, will be mightily glad to get hold of again. But I know now just why they were so anxious to capture us." "They did be thinkin' we was sint afther thim, so I belaved," Jimmie observed. "That may be so," said Jack; "but there was another reason. They had need of our boat." "But, by the powers, they had wan jist as good; how could they use both, Jack?" "Theirs has got a big hole punched in the bow, and must have hit a rock just when they started to come into the cove. They had tried to mend it, but I guess that's a job for a practical boatbuilder and not for amateurs. We'll have to let it stay here, and take our prisoners along in the _Tramp_." "So, that's the way the land lies, do it?" remarked Jimmie. "And whin they saw us come in this same night, to be sure they made up their moinds it was the finest bit of luck iver happened, changin' ould lamps for new." Jack was not satisfied until he had examined the bonds of the two men and made them additionally secure. He also tied their ankles together, avoiding hurting them all he could, yet taking no chances, for he knew he was dealing with desperate characters. The fellow whom Jimmie had flattened out like a pancake had nothing to say, and seemed a gloomy customer. On the other hand, the second prisoner made out to be a nervy, reckless, happy-go-lucky sort of a fellow. He joked with the Irish lad, and pretended to be utterly indifferent as to his fate. Still Jack distrusted him and meant to keep an eye on him pretty much all the time, until an opportunity came to hand them over to the authorities. It was now about midnight. Both boys were tired, but too excited to think of doing much in the way of sleeping. So Jack laid out the balance of the night in watches, and during the six hours remaining he and Jimmie managed to pick up a little rest; though when morning came both of them were feeling, as Josh Purdue would have said, "pretty punk." They managed to get breakfast, and both of the men were fed after a fashion, although the cautious Jack would take few chances of allowing them to have their hands free. At eight o'clock the little _Tramp_ put out of the cove, and once more breasted the brawling Mississippi flood that moved ceaselessly southward. Jack kept near the Tennessee shore for many reasons. He wished to get rid of the two prisoners as soon as he could, and meant to go ashore when he came to the first good-sized town, where he had reason to believe the captured robbers would be properly taken care of, and the recovered valuables placed safely, awaiting the claim of the bank authorities.