He Managed To Pick His Way Across And Back, After A Good Deal Of
Floundering, And We Decided To Try The Ford.
First they hitched
up ten mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the
teamster cracked his whip, and in they went.
But the quicksand
frightened the leaders, and they lost their courage. Now when a
mule loses courage, in the water, he puts his head down and is
done for. The leaders disappeared entirely, then the next two and
finally the whole ten of them were gone, irrevocably, as I
thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut away those
mules! Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men plunged
in, and feeling around under the water cut the poor animals loose
and they began to crawl out on the other bank. I drew a long
breath, for I thought the ten mules were drowned.
The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught
them up, and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever
get across.
There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the
stream, and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down
the river. I cried out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all
right, we'll get them presently," said Jack. It seemed a long
time to me, before the soldiers could get them to the bank, which
they did, with the aid of stout ropes. All our worldly goods were
in those chests, and I knew they were soaked wet and probably
ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face of the
serious problem which confronted us?
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 106 of 274
Words from 28202 to 28485
of 72945
