“All right, George,” Dick laughingly replied; “that’s just in my line of business. If anything happens to the boat, I must be here to see it, so I’ll stay on board.” The stop kept the boat at Louisville for more than an hour. The “Hoodoo man” was released and put ashore with a warning not to come back, and the thirty or forty passengers whose fear of starting on Friday had led them to take the train, joined the boat. By half-past one she was on her way down the river again. “That was a good incident, that Hoodoo man,” Dick said to himself; “I was lucky to see it.” He did not know that the incident was only begun. “Don’t you want to go up on the Texas deck?” one of the passengers asked him--a pleasant-faced young fellow in a red flannel shirt. “We’ll be going over the falls in a minute or two, and it’s worth seeing.” Together they went up to the Texas, the highest deck of all, many feet above water, where a number of men were already standing. The falls of the Ohio at Louisville might more properly be called rapids, for they stretch out over half a mile or more. When the water is high they are almost obliterated; but in low water they become a raging, roaring descent, studded with dangerous rocks. While the boat was rushing through this rapid Dick felt several sharp bumps against the bottom; but they were different from the bumps he had felt at Porto Rico or anywhere else, and he attached no importance to them. Five minutes afterward, with the boat still in the rapids, several newcomers ran rapidly up to the Texas and began to watch a boat that was putting out from the Kentucky shore. Dick looked too; and as soon as the boat was near enough to be seen plainly, he watched with great interest. For it was no ordinary boat that was coming out toward them at great speed. Painted white, her brass mountings glistened in the sun. Her eight oarsmen pulled with the strength and precision of man-of-war’s men. The man at the tiller was in uniform, and all the men wore blue caps. It was a pretty sight, that handsome boat so excellently handled. “What boat is that coming out?” Dick asked one of the newcomers. “That is the life-saving crew from Louisville,” the man replied. “The life-saving crew!” Dick repeated; “and what are they coming out here for?” “Don’t you know we’re sinking?” the man asked. “The hold is half-full of water now. The life savers must have seen us strike the rocks five minutes ago, and they’re coming out to our assistance. Oh, it’s a fine thing, that life-saving service! If the boat goes down in deep water, they’ll find some way to get us all ashore. Just see them come!” Dick and his red-shirted companion hurried down to the deck below them, and there everything was in confusion. Women and children were screaming, and several women had fainted. Men were rushing about after life preservers and gathering up their valuables. The boat’s whistle had begun to blow continuously, and the horrible racket added to the excitement.