AN UGLY CONDITION. 171 



though, an' runnin' at that like a mill-race. That hull 

 day it rained bull-dogs, an' I thort torst evenin' that the 

 water wur risin' so high that I'd hev to remove out o' 

 that. Still, as the shanty had stood so well, I didn't 

 like to leave it, specially as all my possibles an' plun- 

 der wur lying around. 



" I hed so much to do an' to think of that I never 

 thort o' the beaver for a while ; an' when I did, you bet 

 I rubbed my eyes ! The critter wurn't nowhere to be 

 seed ! I guess I soon med out that he'd eat hisself free 

 an' he'd med tracks into the water. 



" Hyur I wur, then, 'ithout a sarviceable rifle, alone 

 be m'self fifty mile from anywhur, anchored out in a 

 flood, an' darkness fast comin' on. 'Twur right down 

 ugly to look at, but 'twurn't nothin' at all to what kem 

 arterwards. You'll hardly bleeve me, boyees, when I 

 say that arter takin' a look at how the water wur risin', 

 I stretched m'self on my b'arskins, an' afore long fell 

 fast asleep ! 



" I don't know how long I wur asleep ; but I do know 

 I woke wi' a screech that skeered m'self! I wur all 

 wet, an' I soon med out that the hull shanty wur 

 soakin'. But 'twa'n't that puzzled this coon ; 'twur the 

 way the thing wur a-pitchin' an' tossin' an' rollin' from 

 side to side. Jest as I'd steady m'self agin the wall, 

 I'd get a whammel as'd send me kerslap agin the other 

 side; an' then souse I'd go under water, which wur 

 a'most a yard deep over the floor. 



"Thur wa'n't a doubt about it: the shanty wur 



