ry waves broke upon the reefs near the bank, and a cloud of spray
wavered and glittered above a tossing line of foam. They were drifting
towards the line extraordinarily fast, and Thirlwell felt his nerves
tingle as he tried to brace himself. There was ground for being daunted,
but he thought he would not have felt much disturbed had Driscoll not
looked afraid.

Then Scott, kneeling in the bow, turned, and after a quick glance at
Driscoll said, "Keep as cool as you can, partner. Steve's badly rattled
and can't be trusted."

A minute or two afterwards, they plunged over the edge of the rapid. The
air got cold and the light got dim, for a wind blew against the rush of
water and the spray hid the moon. Still, they could see for a distance,
and Thirlwell frankly shrank as he glanced ahead. The river was broken
by ridges of leaping foam that ran one behind the other with narrow gaps
between. White-ringed eddies span along the bank and the tops of dark
rocks rose out of the turmoil. Moreover, there were rocks in the
channels, and one must strain one's eyes for the upheavals that marked
sunken shoals. Driscoll knew the reefs and eddies, and while they
plunged down like a toboggan Thirlwell risked a glance astern. The man's
eyes were fixed on the river, but his pose was slack. It was plain that
he had not recovered and they could expect no help from him. Thirlwell
drew a deep breath and gripped his paddle hard.

He could never remember much about the next few minutes. Sometimes he
shouted to Scott, and thought Scott called to him, as a wedge of stone
suddenly split the rushing foam, and sometimes when the current boiled
in fierce rebound from a hidden obstacle. The canoe plunged until the
water stood up above her bows, and now and then leaped out half her
length. When they dared, they checked her with a back-stroke as some
danger loomed ahead, but oftener drove her faster than the current to
steer her round a reef or dark, revolving pool. Yet, for the most part,
she must be kept straight down stream, for if she swerved across a
breaking wave its crest would curl on board and bear her down.

Thirlwell was vaguely conscious that his hand had galled and bled, but
this did not matter. The trouble was, that the sweat ran into his eyes
and he could not see distinctly. He felt his heart thump and his breath
come hard, but braced himself against the lurching and tried not to miss
a stroke. If he did so, Scott, paddling in the bow, w