Photo by Kolb Brothers 

 AN AIR MATTRESS IN CONNECTION WITH A SLEEPING BAG GAVE US A EIGHT, DRY, 

 COMEORTABEE bed, even on wet SAND OR ROCKY, UNEVEN GROUND 



While he walked back to the Edith I 

 built a fire, then returned to my station 

 in the Defiance. It seemed that he would 

 never come. Finally he appeared above 

 the rapid and paused an instant before 

 making the plunge. It was now in the 

 gloaming and this was mdistinct, but I 

 could make out that he had missed his 

 channel and was carried into a vortex of 

 contending waves. He disappeared for 

 an instant ; then the bottom of the boat, 

 stern first, was shot out of the water and 

 fell over, upside down. This was all I 

 could see. 



Boat and all apparently had disap- 

 peared. I launched the Defiance and 

 v^aited. Soon a dark line appeared ris- 

 ing on the waves. It was the bottom of 

 the Edith. I listened, but if there was 

 any call it was drowned in the roar of 

 the water. The boat was gradually 

 drawing nearer and I prepared to save 

 her, having made up my mind that a dark 

 object in the middle of the stream was 

 my brother on a rock. 



sight, and I v^ondered if she would sink ; 

 but with the rhythm of a pendulum she 

 rose each time she fell, getting smaller 

 and smaller in the distance until the end 

 of the rapid was reached. 



"Did you get the picture ?" This was 

 my brother's question, and one which I 

 found myself unable to answer. J knew 

 that I had the start. I was just as cer- 

 tain that I had taken the long run after 

 he had regained the oars, for I had care- 

 fully followed him, looking through the 

 finder, but had no idea what I was doing 

 when the boat upset. 



]\Iy brother was still determined to run 

 the Edith through, feeling sure that his 

 first passage gave him the experience 

 necessary to handle it successfully. I 

 advised waiting until morning, for it was 

 now getting late in the day ; but he said 

 "he would sleep better with the rapid be- 

 hind us, instead of having to run it on 

 the following morning, and with one 

 boat below the rapid I could save him if 

 it came to the worst." 



165 



