g watch.

"What is it?" said Brace confusedly: "time to get up?"

"Yes, if you don't want to be scratched out of the boat. Look sharp,
please. We're going to get the awning down."

It was quite time, as Brace found on getting his eyes well opened, for
the boat was tugging at her moorings, the awning rigged up overnight for
shelter was close up among the leafage beneath a bough of the tree to
which the rope was made fast; and, instead of the water upon which they
floated being like that of a placid lake as it had seemed overnight, it
was now rushing rapidly by the boat's sides.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Brace excitedly.

"Storm up in the hills somewhere," replied Lynton gruffly. "Water's
rising fast."

"Mind what you're about there, Dellow, or you'll be capsized," shouted
the captain to the first mate. "Make all snug, and keep the boat clear
of the trees."

"Ay, ay, sir," came from the other boat, and a few minutes later the
mooring-lines were cast off, while the men in each boat lay on their
oars, and then as they began to drift swiftly with the rushing waters, a
few strokes were given to get well clear of all overhanging branches
before the grapnels were let go, but refused for some minutes to get a
sufficiently good hold of the bottom.

Finally, however, they caught, plenty of line was let out, and they
swung head to stream, dividing the water that rushed by and sending it
off in elongated waves.

"That's better," said the captain; "but we must be ready, for I doubt
whether these little grapnels will hold long."

"Why not let the boats go?" said Brace. "It's all interesting to glide
along a fresh river."

"Because we may be swept no one knows where, my lad. Steering's hard
work in such a rapid as this. Besides, we may get into bad company--
uprooted trees, floating islands of weeds, and all sorts of things that
would make nothing of capsizing us. No; it will be best to wait here
till the flood begins to fall. I daresay you gentlemen can manage to
amuse yourselves somehow."

"I daresay we can," said Briscoe, lighting up one of his long cigars to
have as an early breakfast; "but isn't this all wrong?"

"What?" said the captain sharply, for he was fully upon his mettle in a
position which called for all his care. "What's all wrong?"

"Why, the way the water runs. It's just the opposite way to which it
was going yesterday."

"That's right," replied the captain; "but it's coming do