At length, as he saw Harry still standing below him, not being aware that the water was over his ankles, he slid down.

When Hector discovered that he must jump into the water, he attempted to climb back again. This, however, from his alarm, and from being unaccustomed to climb, was more than he could do, and down he slid, Harry catching him at the bottom.

"Now run for it!" cried the latter, seizing him by the arm, and they made towards the ladder, the water hissing and foaming at their heels.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE BOYS TAKE REFUGE IN A TREE--THE HOUSE CARRIED AWAY--DESTRUCTION OF CATTLE--A COW CAUGHT IN THE BOUGHS--A NIGHT UP THE TREE--HARRY KEEPS UP THE SPIRIT OF THE PARTY.

The flood came roaring up, carrying everything in its course on either side of the ground over which the lads were making their way. Hector had begun to cry out when he saw how high the water was.

"It won't wash us away yet, never fear," exclaimed Harry, dragging him along. It was almost up to their knees, however, before they reached the ladder.

"You go up first," said Harry. "Be quick about it; I'll follow."

Hector began to climb the ladder much slower than Harry liked, for as he looked round he saw a huge wave, far wider, though not so high as that which first appeared, roaring and leaping as it came down the river.

Trees and fences, which had hitherto withstood the flood, gave way before it.

"Quick, quick," cried Harry, shoving Hector up, "it will be upon us in a few seconds, and may carry the ladder away."

On it came, surging up against the walls of the house. Reggy caught hold of Hector's hand and handed him up on the branch.

"We must get higher up than this," he shouted; "look there! look there!"

Harry again turned round. The house seemed literally to melt away before the flood. The water rose around it, and then, as the wave rushed on, the fragments of the walls and roof were seen floating on mixed with articles of furniture, chairs, tables, and bedsteads. Now the wave surged against the tree. Harry had just time to spring on to the branch, and to secure the ladder by a rope when the lower end was lifted, and it would have been carried away by the flood had it not thus fortunately been secured. The lads watched the various articles as they floated by, hopelessly lost, for in a few minutes they would be driven by the current against the trunks of trees, or the rocks, and would be dashed to pieces.

By climbing out to the end of a branch Harry was able to see where his father and uncle were standing, and to make a signal to them that he and his cousins were safe. This must greatly have relieved the mind of the captain and his brother, though they probably still considered the lads in greater danger than they themselves were inclined to believe that they were.

Several trees had been uprooted and carried along by the torrent, and theirs might share the same fate. Harry returned again to the end of the branch, and found that his father and uncle had gone away to look after the party on the hill.

Harry now proposed that they should get higher up, for the water had already risen several feet above the ground, and might in a short time be up to the branch in which they sat. Higher and higher they got.

"When is it going to stop?" cried Reggy. "Harry, do you think this is such a flood as that which drowned all mankind except Noah's family?"

"I'm very sure it is not," answered Harry. "G.o.d promised never to send such another, and put His bow in the clouds as a token. I have heard of many such floods in this country, though this, to be sure, is higher than any we have known, and I cannot account for it; but I have not the slightest doubt that it will stop before long, though no doubt it will have done a great deal of damage. That cannot be helped. It might have come on at night, and we might all have been washed away before we knew where we were, or fifty other things might have happened. We have reason to be thankful, as matters might have been worse."

"I don't see how that could be," cried Hector. "To have to take refuge in a tall tree, cut off from all help, without anything to eat or drink, is as bad as one can well conceive."

"Come, come, don't grumble; it never makes a person happy, though it is said there are some fellows who are never happy unless they are grumbling, but I don't believe that."

"But if the flood does not subside before night, where are we to sleep?"

asked Hector.

"Why, up in the boughs, like birds or 'possums, to be sure," answered Harry. "By-the-bye, we may find a 'possum, and he may serve us for supper."

"But how can we get a fire to cook him?" inquired Reggy with a slight suspicion that Harry was quizzing his brother.

"Oh, as to that, we must eat him raw; but many a sailor, wrecked on a desert island, has had to live on worse fare," said Harry.

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I wish we had never come out to this horrible country. We shall be starved, to a certainty," moaned Hector; "I'm desperately hungry already."

"Are you? Poor fellow! then you will have to come to 'possum, or have to eat a tree-lizard, or our friend the laughing jacka.s.s, or her eggs, if she happen to have a nest in this tree. We must set off on a voyage of discovery directly."

"I wonder you can joke, placed in so fearful a position as we are," said Hector, in an angry tone.

"What would be the use of moaning and sighing, I should like to know?"

asked Harry. "I always like to make the best of things. The flood won't last for ever. It is sure to go down in two or three days or a week at the most, and in the meantime we must make ourselves comfortable where we are."

"Comfortable, indeed! up a fig-tree with nothing to eat," groaned Hector.

"Well, well, old fellow, things are not so bad as that. Here's a bit of damper to stay your appet.i.te until we can catch a 'possum or a laughing jacka.s.s for dinner;" and Harry produced one of the dampers which he had stowed away in his pocket.

This somewhat consoled Hector, who had hitherto declared that he could never touch such doughy stuff, although he ate his share eagerly, as did Reggy his.

"It may be a satisfaction for you to know that I have got some more,"

said Harry; "but it won't do to eat them all up at once; we must put ourselves on an allowance, or we may have to starve at last. Now let us see how things are getting along."

Harry looked out from the leafy covert in which the three lads had ensconced themselves high up among the forks of the huge tree. The flood was still surging on, setting towards the south-east, and spreading farther and farther over the country. He was grieved to see a number of bullocks floating by, showing that the flood must be sweeping over some of the pastures, and have carried them off before they could be driven on to the higher ground. They were in all probability his father's. Their loss must inevitably be very heavy. Their house and the greater part of their furniture was gone. How many heads of cattle he could not calculate. Other settlers farther down must have suffered in the same degree, perhaps in a still greater.

"We ought to be thankful that the lives of all the family have been saved, and three drays full of property. If father hadn't been wide awake, they would have been lost too," said Harry. At last he caught sight of some pigs feeding on the sh.o.r.e. "Well, those fellows have saved themselves, at all events, and I see some hens, too, in those trees; well, matters might be worse, we must acknowledge that."

Reggy agreed with him, but nothing would comfort Hector; his only remark was that--"It is a horrible, detestable country; if I can once get out of it I won't come back in a hurry."

"Three little blackbirds sat in a tree--Singing, heigh-ho, heigh-ho, fiddle-de-dee," sang Harry. "Now I vote we make a nest for ourselves; as to the water sinking low enough to allow our getting on sh.o.r.e to-night, that's out of the question. Come, Reggy, help me up with the ladder, we must not let that go; we may find it useful in getting down some day or other, and the rope will help to make our nest."

They hauled up the ladder and placed it horizontally across the boughs.

"Stay," cried Harry, "if we get it up into this fork it will serve as a back to our sleeping-place, and the rope pa.s.sed two or three times backwards and forwards will secure the sides." Harry had his axe in his belt. "We must cut some boughs to raise the sides, lest we should stray in our sleep and tumble overboard."

By creeping along one of the boughs they were able to reach some small branches suited to their purpose. These were secured by means of some of the fine vines which hung about the boughs. Harry and Reggy declared the nest they had formed was perfect.

"I vote we have an annual feast here in commemoration of this flood,"

said Harry, "and we will invite our friends to join us."

"It will hold all who come," growled Hector. "I would rather try to forget so disagreeable an event."

"There are some fellows who are never satisfied," said Harry, looking away from Hector.

Harry did his best to keep up his cousins' spirits and his own by talking away. Their conversation was interrupted by feeling some heavy body strike the tree, and looking down they saw a bullock, which had come down the torrent, driven against some of the lower branches, on which the poor animal was endeavouring to find a foot-hold; it succeeded, and remained fixed in the boughs. Its struggles soon ceased, and it was pretty clear that, overcome by its exertions, it was dead, for its head hung over the boughs into the water.

"No fear of starving," said Harry; "we may have as much beef-steak as we like."

"Thank you! I'd rather not eat such horrid stuff," said Hector.

"As you please," answered Harry. "The time may come when you will change your tone."