PAST AND PRESENT. 481
The laughing stopped.
1 Boys, it's a splendid dive,* said one.
«Never mind that,' said another,«the joke on him is all the better
for it.'
There was a remark or two more, and then a pause. Talking
ceased, and all began to peer through the vines. Before long, the
boys' faces began to look uneasy, then anxious, then terrified Still
there was no movement of the placid water. Hearts began to beat
fast, and faces to turn pale. We all glided out, silently, and stood
on the bank, our horrified eyes wandering back and forth from each
other's countenances to the water.
* Somebody must go down and see!'
Yes, that was plain \ but nobody wanted that grisly task.
* Draw straws !'
So we did—with hands which shook so, that we hardly knew
what we were about. The lot fell to me, and I went down. The
water was so muddy I could not see anything, but I felt around
among the hoop poles, and presently grasped a limp wrist which gave
me no response—and if it had I should not have known it* I-let it
go with such a frightened suddenness.
The boy had been caught among the hoop poles and entangled
there, helplessly. I fled to the surface and told the awfiil news.
Some of us knew that if the boy we*e dragged out at once he might
possibly be resuscitated, but we never thought of that. We did not
t.Mnlr of anything; we did not know what to do, so we did nothing
—except that the smaller lads cried, piteously, and we all struggled
frantically into our clothes, putting on anybody's that came handy,
and getting them wrong-side-out and upside-down, as a rule. Then
we scurried away and gave the alarm, but none of us went back to
see the end of the tragedy. We had a more important thing to
attend to: we all fiew home, and lost not a moment in getting ready
to lead a better life.
The night presently closed down. Then came on that tremendous
and utterly unaccountable storm. I was perfectly dazed; I could
not understand it. It seemed to me that there mnafe be some
mistake* The dements were turned loose, and they ratted and
banged and biased away in the most blind and frantic manner,
i j