remarkable difference even a fugitive glimpse of the sun may have on
people, after the king of the day has refused to shine for forty-eight
hours, while the rains persist in descending.

Like magic everybody seemed to become more cheerful. Things lost some
of their gloomy aspect; even the rushing water looked far less bleak
and threatening when those slanting shafts of sunlight glinted across
the moving flood.

"Now, I take it that's a good sign!" said Steve, who persisted in
remaining as near to Bessie as he could, in all reason, considering
that he was dripping wet, and certainly could not look very
presentable; but fortunately Bessie had come to her senses now, and to
her mind Steve never appeared to greater advantage, because she knew he
was doing all this on account of his friendship for her.

Really Steve did not know at what minute the calamity might swoop down
upon them, and he wanted to be handy so that he could look after
Bessie. Max would take care that Mazie Dunkirk did not suffer; and the
other two chums had been privately told to attend to the lame child, so
that all were provided for.

"And I do believe there's going to be a rainbow over in the west!"
exclaimed Bessie, showing considerable interest, which seemed a pretty
good sign that hope was not lying altogether dead within her girlish
heart.

"I'm glad of that," said Max; "not because it will help us any, but if
the rain that was promised passes over, there'll be a chance of the
flood going down sooner. In fact, I don't believe it's going to get
much higher than it is now."

"You never can tell," Bandy-legs remarked, showing a strange lack of
proper caution, though Max tried to catch his eye, and would have given
his foot a vigorous kick had he only been closer; "it all depends on
whether they got the rain up in the hills where most of the water that
flows down our old river comes from."

"Well, let's hope they didn't get any, then," said Max, quickly, as he
saw a slight look of new fear creeping across the faces of the
listening girls; "and on the whole I think we've got a heap to be
thankful for. As long as we're here we'll see to it that the girls are
taken care of; and if we do have to go ashore, why, we can make a
regular picnic out of it; and you fellows will have a chance to show
how much you know about camping in the woods without making any
preparations beforehand."

"I'd just like to do that same!" exclaimed Steve, bravely; "n