Without drawingattention to themselves they had to work their way gradually to thefront. She was not beautiful, he confided in Penrod, 'but she was friendlyand industrious. With a rush of steam from her piston exhausts, she tore away,rejoicing to be free of her towing cable, building up swiftly to hertop speed of twelve knots. His heart jumped against his ribs, and his nerves whippedtight at what he saw below him.
Penrod smiled with him. The watch fires of the sleeping army guided them. Her mind darted back to that morningwhen, as soon as she had seen the twins bathed and dressed, she hadbegun her weekly housekeeping inspection. A team ofsixteen oxen was in spanned and the black driver stood beside them,ready to crack his long whip and begin the trek towards some namelessdestination out there in the blue yonder.
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