Phineas nodded and dropped into a crouch as he noticed Eliza's eyes become wary. He stepped over the soil cleft that hung above the river and slid down, feeling cold water soak his clothes. The water was waist-deep in some spots, but only reached their ankles in many.
Although the water hindered their movement, it was flowing fast in the direction they were walking, and provided much less resistance than it would in the other direction. The two were able to make good progress downstream and had traversed over a mile in less than half an hour. 
As they rounded a bend, Phineas suddenly saw the brush ahead of them shift. He grabbed Eliza and pulled her into the water, with his back against a large white boulder. He held her close against his chest with one hand and kept his pistol out of the water with the other. Glancing quickly past the boulder, he could see a soldier leaning out over the water, scanning the river with his rifle held high.