"All of us, I hope," he said. "We shall easily drop off after our past
night's watch."

"But who could go to sleep feeling so hungry as this?" I protested.

"You," he said, smiling; "and recollect the French proverb, _Qui dort
dine_. You know what that means."

"No, father," I said, dolefully.

"Shame! You should not forget your French. He who sleeps dines, my
boy."

"Perhaps that's so in France, father, but it isn't so here, in the midst
of a flood, and I don't think any Frenchman would say so if he were up
in this tree like we are now."

I climbed down again to look at the notch I had made, and see if there
was any difference, then sent up a shout of delight, for the water had
sunk a foot, and was going down so rapidly that I could almost trace its
descent.

It was as my father had hoped; the flood was running out with the tide;
and as the cause was over we had every prospect of being set at liberty
before many hours had passed.

It was the apparent certainty of this hope which enabled us to bear
patiently the rest of our imprisonment, and the pangs of hunger. For
night came with the water still falling; but the fact was plainly before
us--we should have to pass one night in the tree.

I looked forward to the long, dreary hours with horror, but after
getting astride of one branch, and putting my arms round another,
feeling half ready to groan with misery, the present dropped away all at
once, and I was conscious of nothing till the sun was brightly shining
again, when I awoke to find that my wrists were tightly bound together
on the other side of the great bough I had embraced; and on recovering
my senses sufficiently to look down, I saw that the water had not all
drained away, there being several feet in the lower part of the
clearings, but the house was so nearly standing out clear that there
could not have been more than a couple of feet in depth on the floor.

Morgan and Hannibal were already down, wading breast-high towards the
house; and as my father set free my hands, we prepared to follow.

It was no easy task, for the branches were far apart, and covered with
slimy mud, but we descended cautiously, promising to come back with
ropes to lower poor Sarah and Pomp.

The latter looked gloomy and discontented on being told that he was to
stay and keep Sarah company; but he proceeded to walk along to her as we
lowered ourselves down, and then contrived to be first, for his bare
feet slipped