by Carol Norton
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE FLOOD.
AS the old sailor made his way back to the island, he was alarmedto see how rapidly the water was rising over the marsh. He splashedknee-deep in the water at every step and it was easy to see that itstill continued to rise with astonishing rapidity.
His first act on reaching the island was to move the camp to thehighest knoll of ground, already the lowest lying portions of theisland were submerged. Chris had regained consciousness though he wasstill too weak to move without assistance. He watched the old sailor'spreparations with evident interest and looked at the rapidly risingwater with evident anxiety.
"If dat water doan stop comin' up, we is sho' goin' to hab a hard timegettin' anythin' to eat," he observed. "Can't get ober dem rock noway when dey is covered wid water, sho' to break a leg in one ob demholes."
"The Lord will watch out for us, lad," encouraged the captain. "Lookat all that He has brought us through. He has never deserted us in ourhour of need."
"Golly! I reckon dat's so," agreed the little darkey, thoughtfully.He remained quiet for a few minutes then said quaintly, "'Spect's weoughter ask him to look out foah Massa Charley an' Massa Walt. I'zegetting plum anxious 'bout dem two white chillins. Dey had oughter beenback long 'fore dis. Massa Charley's mighty clever, but I 'spect datit wouldn't do no harm to ax de Lawd to help him out a bit if he's introuble."
"No one can do without the Lord's help, Chris," the captain said,gravely, "an', I reckon, them lads need it powerful bad. Somethingpretty serious has happened, I 'low, to keep them from coming back.We'll ask the Good Lord to watch out for them an' protect them."
The old sailor knelt by the little negro's side and in simple seafaringlanguage prayed that the Heavenly Father would watch over and protectthe missing ones.
The simple steadfast faith of the old seaman and the trusting littlenegro filled them with a sense of security and peace. They doubted notthat their humble petition would be answered and that now a HeavenlyEye was watching over them and their absent companions and that aDivine Hand would guide them through their trials and danger. Theystretched out on their leafy couches and went fast to sleep, while thestorm raged and howled around them and the rising water crept slowly upon their little island.
It was broad daylight when they awoke and looked about them. It wasa wild and terrifying scene that met their eyes. The marsh betweenthem and the sea was completely submerged and covered with rollingwhite-caps. Far out on the reef they could see the mighty rollersflinging their spray forty feet in the air when they struck the sunkenrocks. Of the island, none remained except the high sands and knollupon which was their camp. Between the island and the mainland was twomiles of swirling, foaming water.
"Can't get to shore, no ways, now, Massa Captain," Chris observed."You had oughter gone in las' night when you had a chance an' left disnigger behind."
"The Lord will look out for us, lad," said the old sailor cheerfully."I don't calculate that the water's going to rise high enough to coverthis knoll we are on an' as soon as the wind drops a bit, the boys willbe back for us with a boat. It's just a matter of being patient for alittle while. We may get a little bit hungry, but, I reckon, we canstand that without grumbling."
"Sho' we can," agreed Chris, bravely. "Tho' hit do seem like I wasgettin' powerful hungry already. Ain't dar none of dem cassava rootsdat we can get at?"
A close search revealed that most of the patch of tubers was covered bythe rising water. A few plants however still showed on the little knolland these the captain dug at once. There was only a scant half peck ofthe roots but that was better than nothing.
The old sailor kindled a little fire and roasted all the roots in thecoals.
"We might as well have one good full meal," he observed, "I never didtake much stock in this idea of going on short rations when grub isscarce. I always 'lowed that one good feed would carry a man furtherthan a dozen pesky little ones that only tantalize the stomach."
But the roots shrank greatly in the cooking, by the time the skins wereremoved, there was but little left for the hungry castaways. They stillfelt empty after their meal was finished.
The day dragged wearily away with no sign of abatement of the storm.The water continued to rise slowly, but so slowly that the two anxiouswatchers were not without hope that the little knoll on which theywere would escape the overflow. Their position was by no meansuncomfortable. There was no rain and the weather was so warm that thewind did not cause them to suffer any from cold. Aside from theirgrowing hunger and their anxiety about their missing companions, theywere quite comfortable. Chris, in fact, was in better shape than at anytime since they had been cast on shore.
"I don' reckon dis storm can las' berry much longer," he observed,cheerfully, when the sun went down in a perfectly clear sky. "Dar ain'tno clouds to back up de wind an' hit's bound to play out 'fore long."
"That's just where you're wrong, lad," said the captain. "A gale from aclear sky is the worst of all. I ain't ever seen many of them but whatI have seen were all hummers."
The two sat looking out on the gloomy waste of waters until the moon,now at its full, rose and lit up the wild scene about them almost asbrightly as day. At last they tired of the wild, gloomy, dishearteningscene, and, after a short prayer together, stretched out on theircouches. Chris was almost instantly asleep but the captain lay longawake, his mind full of their helpless situation, and, of anxiousconjectures as to the fate of the two absent lads. His own positionand that of his little companion was such as to awaken his deepestfears. So long as the storm continued, their rescue by land or Gulfwas impossible. No boat could live amongst the rocks and raging waterswhich now surrounded them. His long experience told him that the stormwas likely to continue at least two days longer.--He had seen similargales blow for an entire week without a let up. Even after the galewas over, it would take some little time for the waves and water tosubside. At the best, they would suffer greatly from hunger beforetheir rescue would be possible. But, to do the old sailor justice, histhoughts were not so much of their own situation as of the absent lads.He could only hope and pray that they had not started to return bywater before the breaking of the storm.
As he lay motionless musing, his ear caught a low grating sound as ofheavy objects drawn on coarse sand. He quickly sat up on his couch andlooked around. In the bright moonlight he could see large dark objectsmoving over the white sand.
"'Gators, an' a regular drove of them," he exclaimed. "Wake up, Chris!Wake up!"
The little negro struggled up into a sitting position, still halfasleep.
"What's de matter, Massa Cap?" he inquired.
"Look at them 'gators, thar's dozens of them. We've got to have a firemighty quick an' stick close to it."
Chris greeted the sight of the dark objects with a cry of joy.
"Oh, Golly! De Good Lord's dun answered our prayers. Dem's turtles."
The old sailor sprang to his feet and would have dashed for the nearestobject if the little negro had not restrained him.
"You sho' scare dem all away if you do dat way," he cautioned. "Jus'wait till dey gets to layin' an' you can walk right up on 'em."
The huge creatures crept steadily on up the shelving knoll. Theirprogress was slow and clumsy, and their lower shells dragging over thesand had made the grinding noise the captain had heard. They crept upto within ten feet of where the two watchers lay, then, they halted,and, with their hind flippers began to dig deep holes in the soft sand.
"Dey lays der eggs in dem holes an' covers dem up wid sand," Chrisexplained in a whisper. "Dey each lays mighty nigh two hundred eggs. Dewarm sand hatches out de little turtles."
The two castaways waited until the great sea hens had begun to lay,then Chris arose and walked directly for them without any attempt atconcealment. The turtles did not pay the slightest attention to hisapproach.
"We'll take dese two smallest ones," he announced. "Dey will be detenderest. Jus' grab de shell wid me, Massa Cap, back by de hindflip
pers an' we'll flop 'em over on his back. Keep youah eyes an' mouthshut."
But the old sailor was too excited to heed the advice. He grabbed theturtle's shell and heaved, then staggered back spitting and coughingwith mouth, eyes, and ears full of sand, which the creature with it'sflippers sent flying in a cloud about it.
Chris waited until he had relieved himself of the stinging sand andthis time the captain, following his advice, kept mouth and eyestightly closed. A few seconds sufficed to turn the two turtles on theirbacks where they lay helpless.
There must have been at least thirty turtles in the bunch but thecastaways contented themselves with only turning the two, any morewould have been useless slaughter. Those unmolested quickly completedtheir laying, covered the eggs and retreated to the water.