Edith sat quite calmly. “I am very sure that it will not come higher than that,” she said, placing a stone on the ground.
“And why do you think so?” I asked.
“Because God rules the waves. He can stop them just where he wills,” she answered with perfect calmness.
She was right; the water came only a little higher than the stone, and then began to recede.
The children had brought an ample store for their picnic, and had thus enough food to prevent them suffering much from hunger. They wanted Paddy and me to take some, but of course we would not touch it, though I confess that by this time I was somewhat hungry.
At length, greatly to my satisfaction, I caught sight of the boat pulling with four oars rapidly towards us. Feeling her way, she got within twenty yards of where we were. Burton, who was in her, tucking up his trousers waded on shore, and taking up Edith carried her on board; while Paddy got Pierce on his back, and soon placed him by her side. I followed, when the boat shoved off, and we made the best of our way to the river. I was thankful to hear from Mudge, who also had come, that my mother was much better.
Our father received us at the landing-place, and not a word of reproach did he utter to Edith and Pierce—feeling that they had been sufficiently punished for their thoughtlessness; while our poor mother welcomed them back with tears of joy.
“O mamma, mamma! how very sorry I am that we should have alarmed you so,” exclaimed Edith, as she threw her arms round our mother’s neck. “We fancied that we were doing something very heroic in exploring the country, and expected to find another river or beautiful harbour, little dreaming of the danger we were running.”
“We may thank God, my child, that you are preserved,” answered our mother. “From what I hear, had a storm come on you would inevitably have been lost.”
She did not think at the moment how narrow an escape they had had. Scarcely had we landed when the general appearance of the sky to windward changed, clouds dark as ink rose above the horizon; and before an hour had passed, one of those fearful gales known as black hurricanes or black squalls, which occasionally blow on the Australian coast, began to rage.