Dragging
Him Away From The Hoofs Of The Animal, I Begged Him To Put
His Hands On My Shoulders Or Hips.
He was past any effort of
the kind.
I do not think he heard me even. He seemed hardly
conscious of anything. His long wet hair plastered over the
face concealed his features. Beyond stretching out his arms,
like an infant imploring help, he made no effort to save
himself.
'I seized him firmly by the collar, - unfortunately, with my
right hand, leaving only my left to stem the torrent. But
how to keep his face out of the water? At every stroke I was
losing strength; we were being swept away, for him, to
hopeless death. At length I touched bottom, got both hands
under his head, and held it above the surface. He still
breathed, still puffed the hair from his lips. There was
still a hope, if I could but maintain my footing. But, alas!
each instant I was losing ground - each instant I was driven
back, foot by foot, towards the gulf. The water, at first
only up to my chest, was now up to my shoulders, now up to my
neck. My strength was gone. My arms ached till they could
bear no more. They sank involuntarily. William glided from
my hands. He fell like lead till his back lay stretched upon
the rock. His arms were spread out, so that his body formed
a cross. I paddled above it in the clear, smooth water,
gazing at his familiar face, till two or three large bubbles
burst upon the surface; then, hardly knowing what I was
doing, floated mechanically from the trapper's grave.
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