Thenitwasthatthesoldiersappeareduponthebank。“Ah！littlepeople，“onecried，“youswim，doyou？Well，youwilldrown；andifyoudonotdrownweknowaford，andwewillcatchyouandkillyou——
yes！ifwemustrunovertheedgeoftheworldafteryouwewillcatchyou。“Andhehurledanassegaiafterus，whichfellbetweenuslikeaflashoflight。
Whilehespokeweswamhard，andnowwewereinthecurrent。Itsweptusdownwards，butstillwemadeway，forwecouldswimwell。Itwasjustthis:ifwecouldreachthebankbeforeweweresweptintotherapidsweweresafe；ifnot，then——good-night！Nowwewereneartheotherside，but，alas！wewerealsonearthelipofthefoamingwater。
Westrained，westruggled。Balekawasabravegirl，andsheswambravely；butthewaterpushedherdownbelowme，andIcoulddonothingtohelpher。Igotmyfootupontherockandlookedround。
Thereshewas，andeightpacesfromherthebrokenwaterboiled。I