Old Gold Part 39

All this and more pa.s.sed through his brain in those frightful minutes as the men tugged hard at the oars, and they kept on parallel with the great descending sheet of water.

Now and then, as if divided by a puff of air which did not reach them, the rolling mist opened and displayed piled-up natural piers of rock, towering above their heads and dividing the curtain of gleaming descending waters; but for the most part the falls were hidden from them by an impenetrable veil, and at last they were upon the outskirts of this mist as they rowed on.

At first Brace believed that his eyesight was dimming, and he shuddered, for the faces of his fellow-sufferers appeared to him to be strangely distorted and indistinct; but he grasped the reason, and knew now that in a few minutes more they would pa.s.s on to their death.

But no one else seemed to be affected by the surroundings. To a man, with fixed staring eyes and set teeth, the sailors dragged at their oars, waiting till their officer at the tiller should bid them cease, while his face seemed to have become set to a stony solidity which never changed, for Lynton was ready to meet the worst and, determined to help till the water beat them down, he breathed hard and thrust in the regular seaman's swing.

Suddenly Brace felt more than saw that the yard above them swung slightly, and no doubt creaked; but no sound save the deafening roar of the waters could reach to his ear, and he just glanced upward, to feel for the moment that the canvas darkened their position, and it seemed to him that the time had come, for the sail was like one of the wings of death beating over them, and a curious feeling of resignation made him calm.

He had not felt anything like fear during the last few minutes: he was only aware in a rapt dreamy way that something was about to happen--that something which was the end of everything on earth: and he felt sorry for his brother, who would take it terribly to heart that he did not return. But, directly after, his brain was intent upon the efforts he was making to help the rower in front.

Then the mist became very thick around them, and as the boat was gliding faster and still faster through the water the already moistened sail seemed to be struck a violent blow which nearly capsized the boat, as she heeled over to port and did not recover.

"We're going down," thought Brace, and he closed his eyes and threw back his head till his face was towards the sky, but only to resume his old position, for he awoke to the fact that the men seemed to be making a last desperate attempt to get out of the rushing water.

And now, as he unclosed his eyes, it was to find himself in the clear sunshine with the boat dashing at headlong speed through the water, her port gunwale only an inch or two from the surface and the wet sail bellied out in a dangerous way, while Dan was holding on by the sheet.

The roar of the water was stunning, but the sudden change in the state of affairs seemed to stun him far more, till it gradually dawned upon him that they had rowed on in their desperation till the boat had pa.s.sed into a current of air, one caused by the wind striking against and being reflected from the rocks at one side of the falls, and by whose help they were gliding so rapidly into safer waters that the men suddenly ceased rowing, while Lynton uttered a yell.

"Look, look!" he shouted. "Do you see? Do you see?"

"See? How?" panted Briscoe. "I am nearly blind with staring at death."

"Yes, yes, but look, look! Mr Brace--the water, the water! We have got into an eddy, and it is setting right away from the falls."

Brace turned round and saw that Lynton's words were true. He sat staring at the water until he was recalled to a sense of what was pa.s.sing around him by hearing Lynton's voice.

"Oh, catch hold, sir; catch hold of this tiller and steer. Let her go-- fast as she will--so as to get away from this horrid place. Quick!

quick! I can't bear it! I'm going mad!"

Brace s.n.a.t.c.hed at the tiller, and only just in time, for Lynton's grasp upon it gave out, and with a lurch forward he fell upon his face, which was, however, saved from injury, for he had clasped his hands upon it, and now lay in the bottom of the boat, hysterically sobbing with emotion like a girl.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

BRISCOE'S YELLOW FEVER.

Brace felt shocked at seeing a strong man so overcome, and carefully refrained from glancing at the American, for fear of seeing a look of contempt in his eyes.

But the weakness pa.s.sed away as quickly as it had come, and Lynton sprang up, to give a sharp glance round at the surface of the broad stretch of water, and then he turned to the others, but he did not speak for a few moments.

"We're all right," he said then, in a quiet voice. "That current don't spread as far as this. Why, it was exactly like looking death right in the face, and when I'd wound myself up to meet him like a man, it was as if something went off inside me, and I ran down all at once when I found we were not to die after all."

"It was awful," said Brace, to whom the words were addressed. "I expected it to be over every instant."

After a while Briscoe said:

"I am glad we have come safely through it all. It is more than I had dared to hope for."

"That it was," said Lynton. "I don't know how you were, but I felt like a great girl. Well, it's all over, and very thankful I am. Mind shaking hands with me, Mr Briscoe?"

"Mind?" cried the American warmly, as he held out both his own to the mate. "No; why should I mind?"

"Because I turned round on you and cut up rough when we were in trouble.

Thank you. I beg your pardon."

"Bah! nonsense, man. It was quite natural."

And there was a warm exchange of pressure as the two men gazed in each other's eyes.

"Perhaps you wouldn't mind either, sir?" said Lynton, turning to Brace.

"I was waiting for my turn," replied Brace heartily.

And again there was a warm pressure of hands exchanged.

"I say, both of you," said the second mate, in a low voice: "you don't think I was very cowardly over it, do you?"

"Cowardly?" cried Briscoe. "My dear fellow, I think you behaved like a hero."

"No," said Lynton, flushing. "You mean Mr Brace here."

"He means we all behaved well," said Brace laughingly; "and I think you ought to say a few words to the men."

"That's what I feel, sir; but don't you think it would come better from you?"

"Certainly not. You ought to speak. You are their officer."

"Perhaps Mr Briscoe would not object to speaking to them?"

"No; it would come best from you: so say something at once."

"All right," said Lynton, clearing his throat with a good cough, and turning to the men. "Look here, my lads.--Would you mind taking the helm for a few minutes, Mr Brace? Thankye.--Look here, my lads."

"Ay, ay, sir!" came heartily, and it seemed to put the mate out, for he coughed again, took off his straw hat, wiped his streaming brow, and made a fresh start.

"Look here, my lads," he began.

"Ay, ay, sir."

"Heave to a minute, will you?" cried the mate. "You put me out. Look here, my lads: we've just now jolly well escaped from being drowned, and--and I--we--I--here, shake hands, all of you. Brave boys!--brave boys!--brave boys!"

He repeated the last two words again and again in a husky voice, as he shook hands heartily with each of the men in turn, and then uttered a sigh of relief as he took his place at the tiller again.

"Look here, sir," he said: "I don't see that we need go on flying through the water like this. We're out of danger, and it seems to me that we've only got to keep a sharp look-out to see when the current changes and keep clear of it."

"Yes," said Brace; "I think we might slacken sail a little now. We seem to have got right out of the surface current leading to the falls."