t of the door
cautiously, looking about him like one in a dream.

The Ark had stood firm, apparently, in its old resting-place. Grandma and
Madeline proceeded to sweep out the rain which had been driven in through
the cracks, and then it was that little Henry G. came running, with a
white face, to the door. He had an air of childish importance, too, as
being the first to bear tidings of some strange and dreadful event, and
eager to hasten to other doors.

"Where's the rest?" he gasped, seeing only me in the room. "You tell 'em,
teacher, Lute Cradlebow's drownded!" and the boy disappeared, without
another word.

I was already faint from the reaction of the excitement incident to the
storm, weak with the effort I had made to "hold myself still." I heard
Grandma calling quickly, "Child! child!" I saw her coming towards me, and
then I lost consciousness.

* * * * *

At evening, while the sun went down over the hill by which the
transfigured river flowed, Captain Sartell sat in the door of the Ark,
and told the story.

The marvellous light was on his face, too. It fell, in shafts of glory,
on the bright foliage of the fallen tree.

Grandma was at Godfrey Cradlebow's, but Grandpa Keeler was within the
Ark, and Madeline caressing her children with a new fondness. There were
a few of the neighbors present; they looked neither frightened nor
curious, but ineffably exalted.

"We'd got our work about done," said Captain Sartell, speaking
mechanically and with little of his customary hesitation of manner. "As
near as I calk'late, there wa'n't a half hour's more work to do on the
old craft, and it had got to be sometime arter noon, but says the boys,
'Let's finish her off, now we've got so near through, and not have to
come back ag'in.' They was always a cheery set--especially _him_--when
they took hold of a job, to put it through.

"We'd seen them sailin' fellows go by a while before; and we knew Rollin
was one of 'em. They wasn't but two, as we could see, managin' the craft;
and they was full sail, clippin' it lively. I calk'late there ain't many
knows this shore better'n me, but I wouldn't 'a' durst skirted along the
adge down thar' at sech a rate, not in the finest day blowin'. First, we
thought it was somebody didn't know what they was about. When we made
out it was Rollin, we knew, if he _was_ drunk, he was tol'able well
acquainted with the rocks along shore, and 'ud probably put furth