8 The stern of the barge hit the current. It
swung around so that the bow line came tight with a great jerk. The
weight was simply too much for the line to bear. It broke in an instant!
9 "My child's on there!" cried Gray Boar. The closest man to it made a
desperate leap for the barge, but he missed the deck, slammed into the
barge's side, and sunk into the water. He was nearly drowned by the
time he was fished out.
10 "Good Lords!" said another worker as they watched the barge rush
down the river, "He hasn't got a chance! He'll pile up on the rapids
for sure, without someone on the tiller. Phone ahead to some of the
other villages. Maybe they can get a boat into the water and catch it!"
11 But to their horror, when they reached the message office, both the
phone and telegraph were dead! A little down river a landslide had
wiped out the lines. It was just now, being repaired.
12 "We can't put a boat in the water!" said the man, "Not with it
raging like this! A barge can handle it, not a small boat. It would be
suicide! Some of the
calmer stretches down river, maybe, but not here. And by the time we
can get word to anybody else, it will be too late. The barge will be by
them. Then, there will only be fast water all the way to Eastern with a
thousand places where her bottom can be ripped out."
13 "Well, I'll run over the hills anyway," insisted Gray Boar, "beyond
the break. If they're watching for debris along the way, he may be
able to hold onto the keg he's tied to. Maybe they can find him."
14 A young man stepped forward. "I'm half your age," he announced, "I
can make the run twice as fast. You stay here ...I'll go!" he hurried
off.
15 For days, they waited for word. Then, a Messenger ran up the hill
with a telegram. It was from a friend of