"Set still," she commanded, and there was that in her tone which made every one of the little flock know that their lives depended upon instant obedience. "Doan move--ary one o' yo'. Doan' jar." Her eyes, shining like stars, scanned the trees about them. The trees were closer together than at any part of the swamp just crossed. And it was strange that there should be more water. Were they nearing the river, she wondered. If the trees stopped and the river commenced, what would they do, even after they had passed this present danger. Questions crowded upon her. She brushed them aside. She had heard that ominous crackling sound again. Every second increased their peril. "Willie," said Mollie, addressing the boy with the rope, "Kin yo' fling thet rope ter thet tree over yan? 'Tain't so good but we gotter go over. Be keerful. Doan jar. An' git ready, ary one o' yo' ter hang on ter th' rope. Leathy, doan cry, now. Nobody's a-goin' ter fall." Willie flung the rope. It caught, tightened, held fast. But the jar was more than the limb could stand. It creaked again--they all heard it now--and slowly, surely, commenced to sag. There was no mistake. The limb upon which the little flock of sparrows was perched was breaking under them! "Oh, God, hol' us up," cried Mollie, suddenly inspired, and instantly the panic which a few moments before had gripped them passed as suddenly as it had come, and the children seemed fairly to develop wings, so quickly did they contrive, by means of the rope, to cross from the breaking limb to the tree beyond without a single mishap. "Keep right on a'goin', keep right on a-goin," called Mollie, while Johnnie extended his crutch again and again to help first one and then another get a firmer hold upon the rope which brought them all up to another limb; for the strange, floundering creatures with the lashing tails and jaws that could swallow a child were still all about underneath. Leon was beginning to be fretful. His throat was sore when they started. The frightful experiences through which they had passed had not served to improve his spirits. Leathy, in her terror, kept edging closer and closer to her brother. Her little hands clutched nervously at his waistband as they all squirmed and crawled slowly across the limb to what seemed to be a sort of elevation just beyond.