As I reached for her, my brother and I both rolled from the log
into the water with her. Then my sister, who had been standing on the bank
to see if we got over safely, came to our rescue; but we were so frightened
that we caught hold of her, and, instead of her pulling us out, we pulled
her in with us.
By that time our screams had reached our mother's ears, and she came
running to see what the trouble was. She saw only one of us, as the others
were under water, or nearly so, and, supposing there was only one in the
water, she came on the logs to help. By the time she got to us, the logs
were under motion, so that she could not stand on them; and she, too, fell
into the water.
The six-year-old sister, whom I had taken across, saw it all and made an
attempt to come to us. Mother called to her to go back. She turned back,
and reached the shore all right. Just as mother spoke, she felt something
come against her feet. She raised her foot with the weight, and caught the
dress of little Emeline, who was sinking for the last time. Mother managed
to hold her till help came.
It being Sunday, nearly every man that lived near was away from home.
Pages:
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296