e been carried
downward, and perhaps dashed with violence against one or other of the
sharp stones.

As soon as it was light, they saw all this; not without feelings of
apprehension and uneasiness. Their whole attention was now occupied
with the one object--how they should get to the bank of the river.

The right bank was the more distant; but the passage in that direction
appeared the easier one. The current was not so swift, nor yet did it
seem so deep. They thought they might ford it, and Basil made the
attempt; but he soon got beyond his depth; and was obliged, after being
carried off his feet, to swim up under the lee of the rock again.

From the rock to the right bank was about an hundred yards' distance.
Here and there, at irregular intervals, sharp, jagged stones rose above
the surface, some of them projecting three feet or more out of the
water, and looking _very_ much like upright tombstones. Lucien had
noticed these, and expressed the opinion that if they only had a rope,
they might fling it over one of these stones, and then, holding it fast
at the other end, might pass by that means from one to the other.

The suggestion was a good one, but where was the rope to come from? All
their ropes and cords--lassoes and all--had been swept away in the
wreck. Not a string remained, except those that fastened their horns,
flasks, and other accoutrements; and these were only small thongs, and
would be of no use for such a purpose. It would require a rope strong
enough to carry the weight of a man impelled by a rapid current--in
fact, a weight equal to that of several men. They all set to thinking
how this was to be obtained. Each looked at the other, and scanned the
straps and thongs that were around their bodies. They were satisfied at
a glance that these would not be sufficient to make such a rope as was
wanted. They did not give up the hope of being able to obtain one.
They were all of them accustomed to resort to strange expedients, and a
sufficiently strange one now suggested itself. Basil and Norman seemed
to have thought of it at the same time, for both at once unbuckled their
straps, and commenced pulling off their buckskin hunting-shirts. The
others said nothing, as they knew well what they were going to do with
them--they knew they intended cutting them into strips, and then
twisting a rope out of them.

All four set to work together. Lucien and Francois held the shirts
taut, while Basil an