But when they thought of the wide valley and the vast quantity of water
necessary to raise one foot after the river left its banks, they
dismissed the thought of danger, and retired to rest.
The rain now poured down with greater fury than ever; the wind lashed
the roof with the limbs of the old elm that drooped over the chimneys
and gables of the dwelling; and the groaning and creaking added a
gruesome feeling to the drowsiness which the plashing rain-drops caused
to steal over the inmates of that danger-threatened household.
"It makes me think of spectres and shrieking ghosts," said Robbie, as he
drew the cover up closer, and cuddled down by Clifford.
"Yes; it recalls the lines of 'Tam O'Shanter,'" replied his older
brother, repeating a verse from that masterpiece of Burns:--
"The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last;
The rattling showers rose on the blast;
The speedy gleams the darkness swallowed;
Loud, deep, and lang the thunder bellowed.
That night a child might understand
The devil had business on his hand."
"If the Old Gent ventures from his fireside to-night, he'll get his tail
wet," said Rob; then rolling over, the lad was soon in the "land of
Nod."
But Clifford lay for hours listening to the hoarse roar of wind, river,
trees, and pelting rain; but finally he was lulled to sleep, though even
in slumber he was weighed down and haunted by a sense of danger; and
when the clock chimed the hour of twelve he arose, and stole down the
stairs. As he reached the next to the last step his foot plashed in the
water. He knew at once that the river was now out over all the wide
valley, and had risen in a stealthy flow, invading the house, where it
was at least two feet deep.
Watching the water by the light which he had returned and procured, he
saw it was rising in an alarming manner; so he hastily dressed himself
and went to the window, and opening the sash, which was all in one piece
and hung on hinges, he looked out on the glaring, boiling flood below.
As he stood thus, looking down on the terrible, raging whirlpool, he was
rapidly revolving in his mind plans of escape from their perilous
position; but every avenue of retreat seemed closed. As he cast his eyes
about in despair, he started joyfully at the thought of the "Crows'
Nest" up in the great elm--a place which could be reached by a flight of
steps springing from the window ledge and leading far up into the forks
of the tree.
Smiling at the fact that he had not thought of it before, he sprang up
the stairs into the fanciful retreat, which Robbie in his boyish fancy
had planned and built in the top of the lofty tree, and which, on warm,
sultry days, had proved to be an aerial lounging-place as comfortable as
it was novel. It was a stout platform about eight feet square, railed
about, and provided with seats, hammocks, and even a rocking-chair. It
was with a feeling of relief that Clifford stood on the floor of the
lofty perch and glanced down at the glare of water.
Springing down the steps, which were also safely railed, he went to the
mark which he had made on the wall and found the water had risen a full
step, and, knowing there was no time to lose, he ran to the bed and
awakened Robbie, telling him of the situation, and in a few minutes that
resolute young chap was dressed and ready to lend a willing hand in the
plan which Clifford unfolded.
Taking a wagon-cover from one of the stow-aways which flanked the room,
and a piece of scantling from the same catch-all, the boys cut the ropes
from the wagon-sheet, and after tying the scantling securely to the
limbs above the platform, at a distance of six or seven feet overhead,
they next drew the canvas, tent-fashion, over it, then brought the ends
down in such a manner that the rain was excluded from the "Nest," and
tacking the sheet to the floor and making a flap for the doorway, the
interior was quite impervious to the rain, which still raged without.
Some blankets were next carried up and spread on the floor, and then two
beds were made hastily, and the busy fellows did not omit the pillows
and sheets; so the place wore a very cozy appearance. Then, when all was
complete, they awakened their parents and Maud, telling them of the safe
retreat into which they would be compelled to remove.
In a few moments they were all safely up in the "Nest," and then the
provisions and a few valuables were carried thither, Rob cautioning them
not to forget a jug of water. Then the boys went down to the hall
stairway and found that the water lacked but two feet of reaching the
upper floor.
Alarmed and in great suspense, Clifford stood watching the flood, and
was relieved to see that the water crept more slowly up the stair; then
Robbie, coming up, said that the rain was about over and the stars were
twinkling through the rifts above.
As the boys gazed at the water; a faint wet line became visible on the
wall just above the flood. Breathless with suspense, they watched until
the band widened; then Clifford shouted in wild excitement,
"Falling--falling!"
"She's falling, falling!" shrieked Rob as he flew up to the "Nest" with
the joyful news.
Yes; it was a blissful fact that the water was subsiding, and, that too,
at a rate which soon promised relief from the danger which had
threatened them with total ruin.
Clifford, ever thoughtful of the comfort of others, now built a fire in
the warming stove which stood in his room, and proceeded to make coffee
for the weary and chilly party that still remained up in their "Nest;"
and as the young man remembered Rob's caution regarding the water-jug,
he hastily tied a rope to a bucket, and reaching over the window-ledge,
soon secured a supply of the necessary fluid. A steaming hot cup of the
fragrant beverage was declared by the nestlings to be "prime and
delicious" in the extreme.
Warmed and refreshed now, the family looked out upon the strange scene
which began to emerge in the dawning light. The valley was submerged
from hill to hill; but they could see the cattle patiently grazing on
the highlands, and the poultry on the accustomed trees were roosting
serenely, far above the danger-line.
The surrounding country was quite rolling, and the stream headed among
the hills on the west, only a few miles distant; so after the rain
ceased, the flood subsided as rapidly as it had risen--a peculiarity of
all Western streams.
The family watched the water subside until all the old land-marks were
once more visible. The fields were still covered in shallow water; but
soon the wild river shrank back into its narrow channel once again.
There had been great anxiety felt for the safety of the Moreland family,
although it was known that their dwelling was situated on higher ground
than the Warlow house; yet no sign of life was visible at the homestead
of their neighbor, and when a loud halloo was heard from Ralph Moreland,
who had ridden over to the top of one of the hills which shouldered down
to the opposite side of the river, a glad cry in response was raised
from the inmates of the "Nest."
It was amusing to see the bewildered way in which he peered over, trying
to discover their whereabouts; and when he finally discovered the aerial
family, he eagerly asked after their welfare.
When he learned of their safety, he laughed in a relieved and hearty
way at their "elevated station in life."
In answer to their inquiries regarding his father's family, he said that
the water had not reached the dwelling; but he was too uneasy thinking
of their danger to wait longer than daylight to ride over, and, although
he did not mention the fact, they saw that his horse was wet to the
saddle-bow, and knew that he had swam a dangerous side-stream to gain
the hill.
Maud begged him not to return until the water subsided, and she kept
shouting their experience across the river, while the equally noisy
youth replied in tones like a fog-horn.
Mrs. Warlow and the colonel had now descended to the "lower regions," as
Clifford termed the first story of the dwelling, where he and Rob were
removing a mountain of mud from the floor, and their mother soon
prepared a breakfast which those hungry youths pronounced a royal
banquet.
But Maud still carried on her loud flirtation from the tree-top in tones
which, Rob said, "could be heard in the next county," and the way she
managed, with her lengthened description of their experience, to detain
Ralph until all danger of high water on his return had passed, showed
she felt a greater interest in the rider than in the high-toned subject.
After he had at length ridden away, Maud descended to the rooms below,
where her mother was, saying that "this inundation would be long
remembered, and would become legendary and traditional."
"Yes," replied Clifford, gravely, "Rob and I will carry the memory of
the event down to our 'remotest ancestors.'"
"Oh, I daresay it will lose nothing in the way of variations in the
transmission," said Maud; "but here, you superior being, bring me a pail
of water;" and Clifford marched off obediently to the muddy well.
"Why, madam," cried Rob, mockingly, as he scraped the mud from the
floor, "have you regained your voice? I was afraid it was utterly lost;"
and he giggled at the thought of how her tones had wandered away over
the prairie.
"More scrubbing and less sarcasm, young man!" she replied, with a blush,
as she vigorously attacked the wall, which was stained by the water, or
frescoed with mud and slime; but as the plastering was of hard coat, it
soon regained its wonted purity under the drenching which was
administered by the energetic and busy workers, and long before
night-fall the usual neatness and order reigned in the Warlow household.
The young brood of grasshoppers had all been swept away in the flood, or
perished in the long, cold storm. Pious Mrs. Warlow said, "The hand of
the Lord is revealed in freeing the land of those pests;" and indeed it
appeared the work of Providence, which had so effectually destroyed them
that no further trace was visible of the scourge which only a brief day
before had threatened both the Missouri and Arkansas valleys with famine
and desolation.
The weather, that for the past year had played the fickle jade, now
tried to atone for her folly, and often would she burst into tears of
remorse, and veil her face in summer clouds, at remembrance of the wild
tantrums which had marred her equinoctial history.
In the propitious rain and sunshine which followed, the fields of grain
emerged from their coat of rich sediment, and the lush, dank growth of
the cereals ripened into great level fields of waving grain, the bronze
and golden wheat and silvery sheen of barley and oats contrasting
happily with the long rows of corn and emerald millet.
How often it is thus, that misfortune, on reaching a climax of
superlative disaster, then assumes the form of diminutive comparison!
The migratory settlers, that had been sojourning in the Land of the
Mother-in-law, now returned, re-enforced by cousins to a remote degree,
and on their tattered old wagon-covers, on which had glared in letters
of blue, black, and red, the legend "Kansas or BusT," and which on their
subsequent flitting had been partially erased and the assertion "buStud
by--" printed instead, now there glared the dauntless assertion,
"kansiss is the bEsT lAnd unDur the suNn."