roots upward, and some
great patches of grass that seemed to have been scooped out of a bank,
roots and all.

"I can't see anything," I said at last.

"What, not dah?" cried Pomp.

"No."

"All 'long side dat tree?"

"Oh, yes," I cried; "what is it--a big fish?"

"No; dat nice lil 'gator, sah."

"What? Why, we couldn't eat alligator."

"Oh, yes; eat um, got nuffum else," cried Pomp, to my great disgust.

"But even if you would eat the nasty wretch, you can't catch it."

"No," said Pomp. "Tell um fader can't catch. Pomp wish dat, but lil
'gator, see um come on, cock um tail up and go right to de bottom. Oh,
oh, Mass' George, I so dreffle hungry. Feel as if um eatum own fader."

There was something so comic in the poor fellow's trouble that I could
not forbear smiling as I went along to where Morgan was seated quietly
enough by Sarah, and I felt something like anger and disgust as I saw
that the former was eating something.

"Oh, Morgan!" I said, sharply; "if I had had something to eat I would
have shared it."

"Isn't much, but you shall have some if you like, sir. Sarah here won't
touch it."

He took a flat brass box out of his pocket, opened it, and held it to
me.

"Tobacco!" I said, looking with disgust at the black, twisted leaf.

"Yes, sir, 'bacco keeps off the hunger."

"I'd rather have the hunger," I said; and he shut the box with a snap.

Restless as Pomp now, and growing more and more miserable, I climbed to
where my father was sitting watching one break among the trees in the
direction of the settlement, and he turned to me with a smile.

"Tired and hungry?" he said. "Yes, I know. But patience, my boy,
patience. Our lives have been spared, and help may come at any moment."

"But do you think we shall escape?"

"Why not?" he said, calmly. "We were in much greater peril last night."

"Yes, father," I said; "but we weren't half so hungry."

My remark brought the first smile I had seen to his lip for hours.

"Yes, yes; I know," he said; "but patience. I think we shall soon see
the water begin to fall, for when I was at the settlement yesterday, the
tide was turning and going down about this time. If it does not take
with it the inundation, we must divide ourselves into two parties, one
to sit and watch while the other sleeps. By to-morrow the flood will
either have fallen, or help will have come."

"Sleep, father!" I said, dolefully; "who can sleep at a time like
this?"