But neither Ike nor Wah Shin attempted to restrain their cries, though their voices were nearly drowned out by the never-ceasing roar of the torrent.
Wah Shin was terror-stricken, and in his fright he forgot his little store of defective English and shouted for help in his native tongue.
The effect on Ike was to change the color of his face to a dark grey, and to make the whites of his eyes very conspicuous. He was devoutly on his knees, though he clung to the logs with both hands, and prayed with an earnestness that there was no mistaking.
In much less time than it takes to describe the feelings of the passengers they were whirled out of sight of the caves and were rushing down between the towering cañon walls with a velocity that was truly appalling.
It was Sam's belief, as well as the belief of the others, after they saw that crossing was impossible, that they would be crushed by the great jagged rocks that beset their course, but they soon discovered that they were in the middle of the current, and that they were passing in safety the obstructions that threatened ruin every instant.
The bravest men tremble on the eve of their first battle, and their hearts sink when they hear the first rattle of the skirmishers' rifles. But as the time passes without their being shot down, they become indifferent to the dangers that at first alarmed and unnerved them, and fight with the coolness and confidence of veterans.
A sailor will laugh at a storm that is full of terrors to the landsman, for it is certain that familiarity with danger does breed contempt.
After the raft had dashed on for an hour or more, our friends began to feel confident and to look at the situation without fear in their eyes.
Ike was the first to speak; perhaps because Wah Shin had not yet regained his knowledge of English. After winking very fast for fully a half minute, he said:
"It don't seem like's if we was goin' to sink—at least not yet a bit."