Adventure stories; Puget Sound Region (Wash.) -- Juvenile fiction; Ranch life -- Juvenile fiction; Young men -- Juvenile fiction
They went on again, following up the river for an hour or two. In the
meanwhile the mist melted, and Frank could see the endless ranks of
mighty trees stretch away before him until they merged into a blurred
columnar mass. At last the cañon, which was growing shallower, forked
off into two branches, and they followed one branch until a broken rocky
slope led them down to the water. It was a dull greenish color and
foamed furiously past them among great stones. There was no means of
ascertaining how deep it was and the boys looked at each other dubiously
for a moment or two. Then Harry made a little gesture.
"We have to get across," he said.
Frank, without waiting for his resolution to fail him, plunged in on the
instant, and a couple of steps took him well above his knees. The water
seemed icy cold. As a matter of fact, it was mostly melted snow, and the
drainage from the glaciers had given it the curious green color. The
gravel commenced to slide away beneath Frank's feet, and by the time the
foam was swirling round his waist he was gasping and struggling
savagely. There was a big, eddying pool not far away and, though he
could swim a little, he had no desire to be swept into it. A moment or
two later he was driven against a rock with a violence that shook all
the breath out of him. He clung to it desperately until Harry came
floundering by and held out his hand. They made a yard or two together
and then Harry slipped suddenly, jerking Frank off his feet as he rolled
over in the flood. Frank went down overhead and as he felt himself being
swept along toward the eddy he exerted all his energy in a struggle to
regain his footing. He clutched at a rock, but the swirling waters only
carried him past. Half dazed and breathless he was flung against another
rock. This time, with a great effort, he managed to hold on, and when he
stood up, gasping, he found that the water now reached only to his
knees. In another minute he and Harry were safe on dry land.
Half an hour later they crossed the other creek, and soon afterward
Frank sat down limply in the warm sunlight, which at last came filtering
between the thinner trees.
"I must have a rest," he gasped.
"There's just this trouble," Harry pointed out. "If you rest any time
you won't want to get up again."
"If I go on now I'll drop in another few hundred yards," declared Frank.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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