“Wait here until I bring the others,” said Roy as he placed the child in a sheltered doorway.
Again he waded through the flood. The water nearly swept him off his feet. He got another child on his back.
“Come,” he said to the woman. “If you do not leave at once you can never get ashore. I will come back for the baby.”
The woman hesitated. “You are risking everything,” said Roy. “We’ll all be drowned if you do not come at once.”
The woman began to sob hysterically. She refused to move. Roy was sadly perplexed. Something must be done at once. But how? Into Roy’s mind flashed the thought of his commander. He knew what Captain Lansford would do. He would compel obedience. Roy ceased to argue with the woman.
“Come with me,” he shouted harshly. He seized the woman by the shoulder and roughly forced her down the stairs. Then he seized her hand. “Come on,” he said roughly and dragged her into the flood.
Desperately he fought to get her to land. The child on his back weighted him down. The current swirled about him. He could hardly keep his feet. He struggled on, dragging, pushing, pulling the woman toward shore. A plank washed near him. He grabbed it and shoved it to his companion. The plank steadied her and she made better progress. They gained the shallower water and got beyond the reach of the waves.
“Go to that doorway and wait for me,” said Roy, pointing out the refuge of the child he had already taken ashore. He handed the child on his back to its mother. Then he turned back. This time he had to swim. The waters had risen so high he could no longer wade. He reached the house and found the baby safe on the upper floor. At first he did not know how to get her ashore. She was too little to cling to his shoulders. Something had to be done quick. He snatched a sheet from the bed, folded it, and tied the baby on his back. Then he went down into the flood, and struggling desperately, got back to land. He took the baby in his arms and leading the others, made his way again up to the Red Cross headquarters. When they got there, night was not far distant. The crest of the flood had been reached. The wind still blew at hurricane force. Roy delivered his charges to a Red Cross nurse and was about to turn away, but the woman he had rescued caught him by the arm.
“How can I ever thank you?” she cried. “If you had not compelled me to go we should all have drowned.”
Roy did not know what to say. He suddenly felt embarrassed. “I’m glad you’re all safe,” he muttered and turned away.