THE UPLANDS IN WINTER 119 



was turbid with sand and its depth could not be 

 seen. I had made an erroneous calculation as 

 to the time of the flood. There was no time to 

 lose. Hastily removing my clothes, I tied thrm 

 up in a bundle and holding them on top of m>' 

 head I started to ford the creek. I was familiar 

 with the lay of the bottom, and hoped to be able 

 to cross without difficulty. It was necessary to 

 feel the way carefully to avoid stepping suddenly 

 into a deep hole. The water rapidly rose from 

 waist high to my shoulders, and, in one parti- 

 cularly deep spot, I felt the tide laving my beard. 

 Should I turn back or push on'? Fortunately I 

 took the latter course and soon came to shallower 

 water and reached the further bank. I then had 

 a run of several hundred yards to find a spot where 

 I could jump and splash across a smaller creek. 

 The run in bare feet on partly frozen marsh 

 served to warm me up. I hastily rubbed myself 

 down with a pocket-handkerchief and put on my 

 clothes. Arrived at the house, where I hoped to 

 surprise the family and find a warm fire and good 

 dinner, I discovered that the door was locked 

 and that the family were away dining somewhere 



