Work is the one certain remedy for a troubled mind. Sam felt that if he
didn't do something he should go distracted, and judging by his own
feelings he reasoned that it would be better for Ike and Wah Shin if
their hands and brains were employed.
He made them wring out their own clothes and the blankets, and spread
them on the rocks to dry; and then all three set to work to repair the
damage to the raft.
They found that the ropes that held the logs together had been cut and
frayed by the keen edges of the rocks, with which they were brought into
contact.
They took the whole raft to pieces; first having tied the rope till it
was as strong, though shorter, than it was before, and then they
refastened the whole structure, making it as secure as possible with the
material at hand.
They had but just completed their work, and made the raft fast by
anchoring it to a stone, when it suddenly grew so dark that they could
hardly see each other.
They next put on their clothes, which were far from being dry, and their
discomfort was increased by a keen, cold wind, that came driving down
the canyon.
"Wat's to be did de nex'?" asked Ike, his teeth chattering and his voice
tremulous with the cold.
"We must move about till our clothes get dry. It will never do to have
rheumatism added to our other troubles," said Sam.
"Wa'al, I dunno dat we'd be much de wuss off, if we had rheumatiz, an'
measles, an' toothaches, an' dem tings. Fac' is, Mistah Sam, we couldn't
well be in a badder fix, no matter wat happened to us."
"Oh, yes," drawled Wah Shin, "'spose we hab no clothes, no laftee, no
gun, no can gettee way, den wat?"
"Keep moving, boys, till you get warm," called out Sam, and he set the
example by walking about on the flat top of the rock, taking care that
neither himself nor companions went too close to the perilous edge.
The exertion and the heat of their bodies warmed them up and dried their
clothes, but by this time it was near midnight.
There was no danger of being disturbed by savage foe or wild beast,
still Sam thought it better to keep up the system of guards he had first
established.
He was so weary that he could have dropped on the hard, cold rock on
which he stood, and been asleep at once, but that fine sense of duty
that distinguished all his acts, led him to forget or put aside his own
wants for the safety and comfort of others.
But though Ike loved to eat and sleep as well as any youth, black or
white, that ever lived, there was a "streek" of thoughtfulness and
unselfishness in his character that asserted itself now and then.
When the order of the watch was arranged, Ike laid his hand on his young
master's shoulder and said:
"See heah, Mistah Sam, does yeh tink I'm blind?"
"Certainly not, Ike. Why should you ask such a question as that?" asked
Sam, in great surprise.
"Coz, Ize got de reasons."
"Well, what are they?"
"Don't yeh tink I'ze been a watchin' ob yeh?"
"What of it, Ike?"
"Dar's dis ob it. I'ze seed yeh a workin' an' a workin', an' not gettin'
no rest nur sleep, but jest a layin' yersel' out foh to keer for us
no-account folks, and make us comf'able. Now, I know I'm mean 'bout
habin' my share ob grub an' sleepin', an' dem tings, but I ain't so
mean's not to see an' tink."
"You are a good fellow, Ike, but I really can't see what you are driving
at," said Sam.
"I'm dribein' at dis, dat you'z got to rest de fust one. Har, de
blankets ain't so awful wet, an' if you ain't wahm enough, yeh can hab
my coat. So do lie down an' take a sleep, dat'll make yeh brain more
clarer foh to tink to-morrow."
When one is inclined to a thing, it does not require much urging.
Sam yielded to Ike's entreaties, which were supported by Wah Shin, in
the strongest English he could command.
They made him as comfortable as possible under the circumstances, and,
after promising to wake him when his turn came, they crept off some
distance, and sitting down side by side they talked in whispers like a
pair of conspirators.
"Wah Shin?"
"Glang, Ike, me gottee no deaf," said Wah.
"You're a good feller."
"Me tinkee so, too," said the modest Mongolian.
"You like Mistah Sam?"
"Oh, yes; likee him gleat heap."
"I thought so."
"Him belly fine youngee man."
"Now, Wah, you an' me's had a heap sight more sleep dan Mistah Sam since
we started out on dis yar scrimmidge, ain't we?"
"Oh, yes, heap molee."
"So," continued Ike with the confidential whisper of one about to
communicate a great secret, "I wants you an' me to play a trick on him."
"Playee tlick!" repeated Wah, puzzled as to the meaning.
"Yes; yeh see he's sleepin' now like a angel."
"Dunno; me nebel see angel. W'at him?"
Without attempting to enlighten Wah as to the nature of angels, of which
it must be confessed he had only a vague conception himself, Ike said.
"We must let him sleep right straight 'long till de mornin'; den w'en he
gits up an' rubs his eyes an' sees it's daylight, he'll be dat s'prised
ho won't know w'at to say. Won't dat be a trick?"
"Him belly nice tlick," chuckled Wah. "Heap muchee fun. Let 'im sleep;
you, me watchee till sun him come top-side galore. Ike, you gottee heap
big head," and Wah patted the black boy's head in a way that showed
affection and approval.
A generous master makes faithful servants. We do not know whether this
is an adage or not, but it sounds as if it ought to be.
So weary was poor Sam that Ike and Wah Shin might have slept through the
night without his knowing it, but it did not require his watchful
presence to make them dutiful.
They divided the night into two reliefs, each taking a half and doing
his duty with the fine sense of pleasure that came from the knowledge
that they were cheating Sam into a long and much needed rest.
Sam certainly was much surprised when he got up in the morning and saw
the flush of day in the strip of sky far overhead and the light coming
into the depths of the canyon.
He was certainly much refreshed by his rest, and when he saw Ike smiling
near by, he at once guessed what had been done.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked.
Ike laughed and at once told him of "the trick" he and Wah Shin had
played.
Sam was much touched by this evidence of thoughtfulness and devotion,
and he fastened it in his memory, that it might be easily recalled if
the chance ever came to show his appreciation in another form than
words.
This was the first morning that they were wholly without food since
starting on their journey.
All were decidedly hungry, but not a word was said about eating. Even
Ike, always ready to show he had an appetite, felt that it would be
somewhat personal to talk about "grub," but at heart he blamed himself
for having eat so much the day before. It would have been the part of
wisdom, he thought, to have put a little away for this morning.
"Wa'al, Mistah Sam, wat's to be did nex'?" asked Ike, as he looked down
at the white line that marked the beginning of another series of unknown
rapids about three hundred yards away.
"We must try it again, Ike," said Sam, bravely.
"Down de ribber?"
"Do you think we could go up?"
"Wa'al, not berry well, an' if we could dis chile wouldn't be in foh
tryin' it again."
"Then we must go down."
"No cannee help oulsel's, if so we go flom dis," said Wah Shin, with all
the wisdom of Confucius.
Once more the few remaining things were placed as securely as was
possible on the raft.
Again, and without the wondering of the day before, Ike and Wah Shin
imitated Sam by tying themselves to the raft.
With much of that feeling of desperation that stirs an officer who leads
his men in a hopeless assault against a powerful enemy, Sam pushed the
raft into the stream.
The current near the shore was slow, but as they got out further it
became more rapid, until at length they shot down with the speed of a
race-horse for the white line of foam that flashed between the grim
walls like the teeth of some fierce monster set in lips of stone.
"Cling tight to the raft, boys!" cried Sam, as the logs began to groan
and tremble. "Cling fast and keep cool! We are going through all right!"
The brave fellow did not have much faith in his own words, but they had
an inspiriting effect on the others.
Into the warring rapids shot the raft, and in an instant all were
drenched in the spray that dashed around them.
Sam could not see ten feet ahead.
His mind, like the waters and the raft, was in a wild whirl; yet, with
the grip of a drowning man, he clung to the logs and tried to shout
words of cheer to the others.