UP THE RAPIDS. THE EDITOR. (MIIUS.'s JOKES. 97 



strain. Meanwhile, thr slim passenger \vas reaping the 

 benefit of thinness and conservative avoirdupois; for Hal 

 8CJ insisted on seating him on the luggage in the middle of 

 the boat, "to keep it dry" he said, while he. the kind hearted 

 little fellow, pushed and pulled the boa! upstream. How 

 ever, tin- situation was only moistly satisfactory, for the 

 rain let down fearfully, but didn't let up a bit. 



The Editor, hall' the lime up lo his knees in the water 

 beneath, while the waters above -poured in si reams from 

 hat and coat., looked back appreciatively upon the triumphal 

 progress 1 was making; and I saw through the rain, by 

 the humor in his eye and the comedy all over his face, that 

 he fully comprehended bofh the humidity and Hie humor of 

 the Htuation 



And Chris., it was rough comedy for his one leg and 

 crulch and cane. He couldn't even contemplate the satis 

 faclion there would be in telling Hie story of Ihis tramp up 

 the rapids, il would be such an old story. Yet lie could 

 joke, even in the river, among the rocks and pouring rain, 

 but such jokes! They were Titanic, belching like a 

 volcano, the thumps of Thor's hammer, thunderous, 

 and I am sorry to say. in connection with this sweet picture, 

 profane as the Devil or Prometheus, if he swore. It was 

 apparent Ilia! Chris., after all. preferred dry land for his 

 one leg to tramp on. and that it was not so much consola 

 tion as the mathematics of the case would suggest, that in 

 wading he only wet one fool while other men must wet 

 two. 



I5ut it was over al last, this passage up the rapids, and 



