But instead
of a terrible ruffian the sheriff found a pleasant, delightful
gentleman, and a brilliant talker. So the poor sheriff's heart
failed him. He really could not arrest this charming gentleman,
and instead he stayed to hear him talk.
Meanwhile out in the cold Perkins waited with the horses, and as
the hours went past and the sheriff did not return he guessed what
had happened. But he was not going to be done out of his capture.
So he went off to the captain of the fort, and told him of his
discovery. The captain was not so easily charmed as the sheriff,
and before the next evening Burr found himself a prisoner in the
fort.
There he remained for about three weeks; then he was sent to
Richmond, Virginia, to be tried.
It was a journey of about a thousand miles, and in those days
there were of course no railways and even few roads. A great part
of the way led through pathless forest and wilderness, and the whole
journey had to be done on horseback. But Perkins undertook to see
the thing through, and with a guard of nine men they set off.
It was a toilsome march. They had to carry food with them, and as
often as not had to sleep in the open air. They swam their horses
over rivers, and picked their way through swamps, while hostile
Indians hung about their track. Every day was the same, but still
day after day they pushed on.
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