eye was strained, watching for the
rescued beeves to come out of the bend below, Vick Wolf, who happened
to look upstream, uttered a single shout of warning and dashed away.
Turning in our saddles, we saw within five hundred feet of us a second
wave about half the height of the first one. Rowels and quirts were
plied with energy and will, as we tore down the river-bank, making a
gradual circle until the second bottoms were reached, outriding the
flood by a close margin.

The situation was anything but encouraging, as days might elapse before
the water would fall. But our hopes revived as we saw the contingent
of about six hundred beeves stampede out of a bend below and across the
river, followed by two men who were energetically burning powder
and flaunting slickers in their rear. Within a quarter of an hour, a
halfmile of roaring, raging torrent, filled with floating driftwood,
separated us from the wagons which contained the staples of life. But in
the midst of the travail of mountain and plain, the dry humor of the men
was irrepressible, one of Forrest's own boys asking him if he felt any
uneasiness now about his salt and sugar.

"Oh, this is nothing," replied Quince, with a contemptuous wave of his
hand. "These freshets are liable to happen at any time; rise in an hour
and fall in half a day. Look there how it is clearing off in the
west; the river will be fordable this evening or in the morning at the
furthest. As long as everything is safe, what do we care? If it comes to
a pinch, we have plenty of stray beef; berries are ripe, and I reckon
if we cast around we might find some wild onions. I have lived a whole
month at a time on nothing but land-terrapin; they make larruping fine
eating when you are cut off from camp this way. Blankets? Never use
them; sleep on your belly and cover with your back, and get up with the
birds in the morning. These Lovell outfits are getting so tony that
by another year or two they'll insist on bathtubs, Florida water, and
towels with every wagon. I like to get down to straight beans for a
few days every once in a while; it has a tendency to cure a man with a
whining disposition. The only thing that's worrying me, if we get cut
off, is the laugh that Sponsilier will have on us."

We all knew Forrest was bluffing. The fact that we were water-bound was
too apparent to admit of question, and since the elements were beyond
our control, there was no telling when relief would come. Until