By the Mists of a Rising River

“They’re going to race, Paul!”

On the Missouri bank of the broad, meandering Mississippi River, a girl stood looking up at her older brother, her eyes wide with excitement. The boy looked at the two steamboats just coming around a bend in the river. The nearer boat, pushing toward the Missouri side to avoid the heavy current, was a stern-wheeler. The farther steamboat, majestically framed by the huge oaks of an island it passed, was an old-fashioned side-wheeler with neatly-painted paddle boxes and three decks, each lined with staterooms. Smoke poured out of the chimneys of both, and the yells of the deckhands came over the water.

“What are they saying, Paul?” asked the girl.

“I think the men are yelling for more wood for the boiler,” said Paul, glancing down at his sister, and at his friend who stood near her. “They really are going to race.”

“Let’s make a bet on which one will win,” suggested the other boy.

“Okay,” responded Paul. “Are you going to be in on this, Maryanne?”

“No way,” his sister responded. “I’m not wasting my money on foolish bets. I’m going to save my money and use it to build a large flower garden and put lots of wildflowers in it. You and Bill can waste your money—leave me out of it.”

“We’re not betting money, just trading valuables,” answered Paul. “Let’s wait for the steamboats to get nearer so we can see them better.”

They did not have long to wait. The stern-wheeler drew even with the boys first and then slowed, waiting for the other steamboat to catch up. It had four decks and three words on its side: GOLDEN RIVER QUEEN. The side-wheeler pulled up a moment later, a lighter craft, but its two chimneys were just as large. On the nearer paddle box was a picture of a river with a sun setting over it. Under the picture, faded gold letters gave the boat’s name: EMPEROR’S DIAMOND “FASTEST STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI.”