And just as though that had been the signal for which it had been waiting, several square yards of the steep bank, with the tree she was clinging to, slumped down into the river.
The girls screamed, while the boys bounded forward toward the spot where Bessie had disappeared.
“Oh, Dave!” cried Wyn. “Save her! save her! She can’t swim very well. She will be drowned!”
CHAPTER VII
THE STORM BREAKS
Dave Shepard, followed by the other “Busters,” leaped down to the edge of the water before they came to the spot where the bank had caved. They feared that by tramping along the edge they might bring down even a greater avalanche than had fallen with the unfortunate Bessie.
“There she is, fellows!” cried Dave. “She’s hanging to the tree!”
“I see her!” returned Ferd Roberts.
“Oh, Dave! we can’t reach her,” cried another of the Busters.
“I wish the professor was here,” cried Ferd. “He’d know what to do.”