CHAPTER XIII.
HOW THE ARK WAS SAVED.
If the wind had been blowing from across the river, so as to hold the Ark close to the bank against which she was moored, nothing could have saved her from destruction by the torrent of blazing oil that rushed down the slope. Even her occupants would have stood but a slight chance of escaping. The stream of leaping flame was so wide, and came toward them with such extraordinary swiftness, that, before they could have reached the shore and run beyond its limits in either direction, it would have been upon them. Their only chance would have been to throw themselves into the swift current of the river from the opposite side of their boat, with the hope of gaining the bank at a safe distance below.
Uncle Phin was helpless with terror and completely bewildered by the suddenness of the peril that threatened them. Thus it was entirely owing to Arthur’s presence of mind and quick wit, that their boat was saved and they escaped the necessity of taking the desperate plunge that would probably have drowned one or both of them. The boy had noticed that the storm came from over the hills on their side of the river, and how, as the fierce blasts swept down and struck the broadside of the Ark, she tugged and strained at her moorings. Now he remembered this, and was quick to turn his observations to account.
Seizing the axe he severed at a single blow the rope holding the boat at one end, and then, running to the other, cut that with equal promptness. Next, thrusting a long pole into Uncle Phin’s trembling hands, he bade the old man shove off from shore with all his might, at one end, while, with a lighter pole, he did the same thing at the other. Their feeble strength would have availed little but for the powerful aid lent by the favoring gale. While this hurled the advancing flames fiercely toward them, it also drove them, at first slowly, then more rapidly, beyond reach of the danger.
There were hardly ten feet of open water between the Ark and the shore she had just left when the flames sprang down the bank and began to spread over the surface of the river, the oil burning here as readily as on land. For a minute it seemed as though the fire must catch and devour them after all. Its flames leaped eagerly forward, like a million writhing serpents, with red-forked tongues, darting after their prey.
“Push, Uncle Phin! Push for your life!” shouted Arthur from his end of the boat, where he was breathlessly exerting every ounce of strength that his sturdy young frame could yield.
“I’se a pushin, Honey!” answered the old man, with the veins of his forehead standing out like whipcords. “I is a pushin; but onless de good Lawd pushin wif us, we hain’t got no show.”
But the good Lord did push with these, his helpless ones, and his strong wind bore their drifting boat forward faster than it did the hungry flames. The current, of course, set them down stream at the same time, and thus, moving in a diagonal direction, they soon found themselves in safety. They were beyond the limits of the sea of fire, that extended for a mile down the river, and a quarter of that distance out toward its centre. Then the old man and the boy laid down their now useless poles and watched the wonderfully beautiful but fearful sight, while they recovered their spent breath.
The great tank was still vomiting forth sheets of flame and clouds of smoke. None of the others had caught fire, and an occasional gleam of light, reflected from the white walls of the Chapmans’ cottage, showed them that it was still safe.
At length, as they were rapidly nearing the opposite side of the river, the current bore them around a sharp turn that almost instantly hid the whole glowing scene from them, and plunged them into a darkness, the more intense on account of the recent glare.
With this turn of the river the gale, now acting on the other side of the boat, drove it back toward the bank they had left, and thus, for several hours, as they followed the windings of the crooked stream, they were carried now almost to one side and then nearly to the other. As they could see absolutely nothing of where they were, or whither they were going, they were quite ignorant of their surroundings. Nor did they know what happened when, about midnight, their boat was driven violently upon some obstruction, and its movement was suddenly arrested.
The storm had passed so that there was no longer any lightning to give instantaneous photographs of the scene about them. The wind still blew a gale; and, as they could hear it lashing the branches of the forest trees, apparently directly above their heads, they concluded that they must have been driven ashore.
Although both Arthur and Uncle Phin were too excited, and too anxious, to go to bed, there was nothing they could do to improve their situation until the morning light should disclose its features. So they closed the doors and windows of their house and lighted the new lamp. How snug and cheerful the rude little cabin now looked. How home-like it seemed, and what a fine shelter it was from the gale that was howling outside.
Arthur said he was hungry; and, as Uncle Phin said he was hungry also, they drew upon their slender store of provisions for a light lunch, after which Arthur read aloud from his book the tale of “The Steadfast Lead Soldier.” The old negro thought it a very nice story, though not so good as it would be had the lead soldier been alive. Then he told Arthur, for about the thousandth time, the story of how Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox went a-fishing, and before it was finished the tired child was fast asleep. Then Uncle Phin lifted him gently into his bunk, and finding that the gale had subsided, almost to a calm, concluded to go to bed himself.
So the Ark was again left to take care of itself, and when its inmates next awoke it was not only broad daylight, but nearly noon. They now discovered that their craft had indeed been driven ashore, on the same side of the river that they had left the preceding evening, though, of course, several miles below the pumping station. There were now no houses in sight, nor any traces of human beings, nothing so far as they could see but a thick forest. After a few ineffectual efforts they found that it was useless to try and push the Ark off with poles into deep water. She was hard and fast aground, and they could not budge her a single inch.
So they decided to have breakfast first and make up their minds what to do afterwards, and while Uncle Phin prepared the simple meal, Arthur made the beds and swept out the cabin with his fine new broom of birch twigs.
After breakfast, or rather after dinner; for, although they did not know it, it was past one o’clock before they finished their meal, the entire crew of the Ark got overboard to examine her situation. They found she had grounded on a sand-bar that afforded her an easy resting-place, but which also held her in a firm grasp. Uncle Phin cut down a young tree, trimmed off its branches, and, using it as a lever, with a large rock as a fulcrum, tried to pry the boat off the bar, but to no purpose. The combined strength of the old man and the boy produced not the slightest effect upon her, and no wonder, for all the strength they could command was but weakness, compared with what was needed.
It was a very unfortunate situation, particularly as they had only provisions enough to last a few days, and knew not where they were to obtain more. Then, too, as it was now the month of October, no more high water could be expected that year, and, in the meantime, the river would be apt to fall lower and lower, leaving their boat high and dry.
In going ashore to cut his lever, Uncle Phin had discovered a road, running parallel with the river. Now he proposed to walk down this road until he came to a house, in the hope of obtaining help, provided Arthur was not afraid to remain alone and look after the Ark.
Of course Arthur was not afraid, he scorned the idea. What should he be afraid of? It was not likely that anybody would hurt a little boy like him. So Uncle Phin left him, and, wading ashore, disappeared down the forest road.
For some time the boy amused himself about the boat; but his resources were few, and after an hour or so, he grew lonely, and began to watch anxiously for Uncle Phin’s return. Exposed to the full glare of the afternoon sun, the boat became as hot as an oven; and finally Arthur decided to take his book and wade ashore. There he would find a comfortable place, in the cool shade of the trees, from which he might the sooner perceive anybody approaching along the road.
He found just such a place as he had longed for; a deliciously cool, shady glade, surrounded by spreading oak trees, and commanding a limited view of the road. After sitting here for some time, he discovered that there were ripe berries on the opposite side of the glade. When he had gathered and eaten these, he saw more berries beyond them, and still more at a greater distance. Then he found some lovely flowers, and thought it would be a fine idea to gather enough of them to decorate the cabin of the Ark against Uncle Phin’s return. So he strolled carelessly on, from berries to flowers, and from one flower to another, until, all at once, the deepening shadows roused him to a knowledge of the fact that the sun was setting, and that he could no longer see either the road or the river.