Suddenly there was a crack as of a pistol shot
behind him. One of Forrester's oars had snapped. Forrester drew in
the other and crawled back to add his weight to the steering oar.
"It's up to you, Judge!" cried Milton.
They were in the center of the bay now and the boat began to spin. For
one terrible moment it seemed as if an overturn were imminent. Out of
the tail of his eyes, Enoch saw the Mary hugging the right wall.
"Judge!" shouted Milton. "If you can back water into that rough spot
six feet to your right, I think we can stop the spin."
Enoch was too spent to reply but he gathered every resource in his body
to make one more effort. The boat slowly edged into the rough spot and
for a moment the spin ceased.
"Now shoot her downstream! We'll have to trust to the Mary to keep us
from entering the falls," Milton shouted.
With Enoch giving all that was left in him to the oars, and Forrester
and Milton steering with their united strength and skill, the Ida
slowly worked toward the narrow opening which marked the head of the
falls. The crew of the Mary had landed and Harden stood on the
outermost rock at the opening, swinging a coil of rope, while Agnew
crawled up behind him with another. Jonas hung onto the Mary's rope.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284