Our companions had all fallen asleep, and our horses, looking
to the east, snuffed the air and stamped upon the ground, as if to
express their impatience to leave so inhospitable a region, I replied to
the parson:--
"It is now too late for us to think of sleeping; let us stir the fire,
and go on with your story."
We added fuel to the nearly consumed pile, and shaking our blankets,
which were heavy with the dew, my companion resumed his narrative:--
"Well, I reckon it was more than half an hour before the steam-boat came
in sight, and as the channel of the river ran close in with the shore, I
was soon picked up. The boat was going to St. Louis, and as I had not a
cent left to pay my passage, I was obliged, in way of payment, to relate
my adventure. Everybody laughed. All the men declared the joke was
excellent, and that General Meyer was a clever rascal; they told me I
should undoubtedly meet him at New Orleans, but it would be of no use.
Everybody knew Meyer and his pious family, but he was so smart, that
nothing could be done against him. Well, the clerk was a good-humoured
fellow; he lent me an old coat and five dollars; the steward brought me
a pair of slippers, and somebody gave me a worn-out loose cap. This was
very good, but my luck was better still.
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