"Stand by, now!"
"Ay-ay, sir!"
"Seven-and-a-half! Seven feet! _Six_-and--"
We touched bottom! Instantly Mr. Bixby set a lot of bells ringing,
shouted through the tube, "_Now_ let her have it--every ounce you've
got!" then to his partner, "Put her hard down! snatch her! snatch her!"
The boat rasped and ground her way through the sand, hung upon the apex
of disaster a single tremendous instant, and then over she went! And
such a shout as went up at Mr. Bixby's back never loosened the roof of a
pilot-house before!
There was no more trouble after that. Mr. Bixby was a hero that night;
and it was some little time, too, before his exploit ceased to be talked
about by river men.