"Didn't Davy tell you, nor your father?" "No, I've just come home across lots from Green's. What's happening at the river?" "Everything, and everybody's down seeing it happen. Let's go." "If you'll wait till I fix my flowers." "Don't wait--drop them or bring them. Everybody but us is there." Nance Cameron had turned to the roadway. Ann was about to join her when she turned back. "Bad luck! Bad luck!" shouted Nance. "Don't go back!" "I forgot to shut the back door." Nance stopped, made a cross in the dirt and spat on it. "You don't pay attention to your signs worth a cent," she said, as Ann rejoined her. "I don't much believe in signs," Ann answered. "That's where you're silly. A black cat ran across Mrs. Armstrong's path no later than yesterday after she had her soap in the kettle. And wasn't that soap a fizzle? And don't Hannah Armstrong know how to make soap? It was the cat did it, and if I hadn't changed your luck just now you'd been in for something awful--might never live to marry John McNeil." Ann laughed, and they started on their way down the road, that stretched the length of New Salem's one street toward Sangamon River. "What's going on at the river?" Ann asked again. "Somebody's ark is stuck on the dam. It got stuck just before dark last night. The crew couldn't get it off and had to wait until morning. They came up to the store to get some drinks. The town men gathered in and you never on this earth heard such roars of laughter as those men let out. Ma couldn't guess what it could be about. When Pa came in he told her there was the funniest tall human being he ever set eyes on with the ark crew. Said his legs reached as high up as a common man's breech belt, his body reached up as high as another man's arms, and his head was up on top of all that. And Pa said he told the funniest stories, and the men nearly died. Pa was laughing yet when he told Ma about it." "Is the boat stuck yet?" "She's stuck yet. Dr. Allan and Mentor Graham just went down and I heard them talking. She's on her way to New Orleans with a load of barreled pork and stuff. Davy's been up to the store twice. He says the crew have worked like beavers to get the cargo off the big boat, but that the water is running in bad and the barrels are slipping to the end which sticks out over the dam and she's sure to go over. She's going to make a great splash, and I love splashes. Let's hurry!" "I hope nobody gets drowned," Ann said. "Like as not they will, and we'll get to see them fished out. Let's trot a little." With the inspiring hope of hearing a splash and perhaps seeing the first shocking throes of a drowning, the two girls hastened on down the slope that reached to Rutledge Mill, where the dam was.