f lanterns which they held
in their hands. The examination was very slight. The men merely lifted
up the things in the corners a little, and, finding that there appeared
to be nothing but clothing in the trunks, they said, "All right!" and
then shut them up again. All this time the steampipe of the little
steamer alongside kept up such a deafening roar that it was almost
impossible to hear what was said.

The way of descent to get down from the deck of the great steamer to the
little one was very steep and intricate, and it seemed doubly so on
account of the darkness and gloom of the night. In the first place, you
had to climb up three or four steps to get to the top of the bulwarks;
then to go down a long ladder, which landed you on the top of the paddle
box of the steamer. From this paddle box you walked along a little way
over what they called a bridge; and then there was another flight of
stairs leading to the deck. As all these stairs, and also the sides of
both the steamers, were painted black, and as the water looked black and
gloomy too, the whole being only faintly illuminated by the lurid glare
of the lanterns held by the men, the prospect was really very
disheartening. Maria said, when she reached the top of the bulwark and
looked down, that she should never dare to go down there in the world.

She was, however, a sensible girl, and as she knew very well that there
could not be any real danger in such a case, she summoned all her
resolution and went on. Men stood below, at the different
landing-places, to help her, and her brother handed her down from above.
Mr. Chauncy, as soon as he saw that she had safely descended, was going
to attend to the children, but just at that instant he missed his
despatch bag. He asked where it was. Some said they believed it had gone
down the slide. There was a sort of slide by the side of the ladder,
where the mails and trunks had been sent down. Some said it had gone
down this slide; others did not know. So he directed the children to
wait a moment while he went down to see. He accordingly descended the
ladder, and began to look about in a hurried manner to see if he could
find it. The men on board the steamer, in the mean while, were impatient
to cut loose from the ship, the mail agent having called out to them to
make haste, or they would be too late for the train. Accordingly, some
of them stood by the ladder, ready to take it down; while others seized
the ropes and prepa