d to go on that raft. It will sink."

"O, no," said Rodolphus, "it will not sink. See." So saying, he stepped
upon the raft, to show Annie how stable it was.

"I'll get a block," he continued, "for you to sit on."

Annie was very much afraid of the raft, though she was not quite so much
afraid of it as she had been of the bridge, because the bridge was very
high up above the water, and there was, consequently as she imagined,
danger of a fall. Besides the water where the raft was lying, was smooth
and still, while that beneath the bridge was a roaring torrent. Finally,
Annie allowed herself to be persuaded to get upon the raft. Rodolphus
found a block lying upon the shore, and he put that upon the raft for
Annie to sit upon. When Annie was seated, Rodolphus stepped upon the raft
himself, and with a long pole he pushed it out from the shore, while Annie
balanced herself as well as she could upon the block.

The water was not very deep, and Rodolphus could push the raft along very
easily, by setting the end of his pole against the bottom Annie sat upon
her block very still. It happened, however, unfortunately, that the place
where Antonio lived was up the stream, not down, and Rodolphus found that
though he could move his raft very easily round and round, and even back
and forth, he could not get forward much on his way, on account of the
force of the current, which was strong against him. He advanced a little
way, however, and then he began to be tired of so difficult a navigation.

"I don't think we shall go very far, on the raft," said he, to Annie,
"there is such a strong tide."

Just then Rodolphus began to look very intently into the water before him.
He thought he saw a pickerel. He was just going to attempt to spear him
with his pole, when his attention was arrested by hearing Annie call out,
"Oh, Rolfy! Rolfy! the raft is all coming to pieces"

[Illustration.]

The Raft.

Rodolphus looked round, and saw that the boards of which the raft had been
made, were separating from each other at the end of the raft where Annie
was sitting, and one of the boards was shooting out entirely.

"So it is," said Rodolphus. "Why didn't they nail it together? You sit
still, and I will push in to the shore."

Rodolphus attempted to push in to the shore, but in the strenuous efforts
which he made for that purpose, he stepped about upon the raft irregularly
and