Bob Hunt in Canada

by George W. Orton

Jack and Bill hove in sight and down they rushed. Just before they struck the bad part of the rapids, Bill was seen to hold up his paddle broken short off at the handle. He turned around to snatch up the extra paddle but in doing so he was too hasty and in another moment, the canoe was caught by a swell and overturned. Anxiously the party at the foot of the rapids watched for the heads of Joe and Bill. Joe came up and was seen to make frantic efforts to get back to the canoe, but he was swept on. Bill did not appear. Bob was out of his canoe and out on the bank before any one even thought of stopping him. In another moment, he was running up the trail that ran alongside the river. A minute later he was out on the rocks above where the overturned canoe was now seen to be jammed between the rocks. A moment later, he plunged into the foaming rapids and fortunately drifted down right on the canoe. When he came there he had the greatest difficulty in not being swept over the canoe. Frantically he clung to the canoe, now finding himself helpless to save Bill, who was partly pinned under the canoe and was rapidly drowning right before his eyes.

Bills eyes were turning glassy, Bob thought, as he made a final effort to get the canoe free. He succeeded in doing this, but not as he expected, for his weight and the weight of the water as it swept along crumpled up the canoe and suddenly he found himself rushing down the rapids just like a wisp of straw on a miniature stream such as little boys sometimes make in the gutters. All at once he felt Bill's body bump him and instinctively he grabbed it and though bruised in a hundred places, he finally shot out at the foot of the rapids still clutching Bill's limp form. Bob was himself practically unconscious, but struggled to keep himself and Bill afloat as if under some superpower.

A moment later, the others were there and they soon had Bob and Bill out on the bank. Bill was far gone, as he not only had been half drowned when pinned under the canoe but he had knocked his head against the rocks in the latter part of his descent. First aid was given to him first. He was stretched out over a log and then his arms were worked to get the air back into his lungs. In about five minutes, Bill opened his eyes and with a big sigh closed them again. A few minutes later he was sitting up, still in rather a dazed condition, but fast recovering. Bob had received quite a cut on his head, but he had not actually lost consciousness and he fast recuperated. He was up and about in a little while, apparently none the worse for his strenuous exertions.

"That was a close call," said Mr. Waterman.

"I should think so," said Pud. "When I saw Bob plunge into those rapids, I thought he was a fool, for I could not see how he could do anything."

"He saved my life all right," said Bill. "I was pinned under that canoe and was nearly drowned when Bob got there. I didn't get get this bump on the head until afterwards. I saw Bob come, but I was so nearly all in that I could only struggle faintly to get a breath of air now and then. When the canoe suddenly broke in two, I shot down and I must have hit a rock for I knew nothing more until I woke up on the bank."

"You deserve a great deal of credit, Bob," said Mr. Anderson, "not only for your heroism but for the quick presence of mind you showed in doing the only thing that had a chance of saving Bill's life."

"You beat me to it all right," said Mr. Waterman. "The way you got out of that canoe and up that trail would have made me look like a snail so I stayed at the foot hoping to be of use there. I thought that Bill might appear any moment at the foot of the rapids as I could not see that he was pinned down by the canoe."

"I'm certainly glad you were there," said Bob, "for I would never have gotten Bill ashore by myself. I certainly was all in. I was not unconscious but I had big black spots before my eyes and I guess I was just about ready to pass out."

"Well, it's all over and we're very lucky," said Mr. Waterman. "We'll camp right here for the night and go on our way to-morrow morning. We can get back to camp all right even if a little later than we had planned."