Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/306

 “I shan’t kick if it doesn’t force me to swim, for I shall be getting forward all the time, but when I do get across, the first thing I shall do is to build a fire and thaw out.”

He noticed that the bottom of the stream felt hard, as if it had been pressed down by the innumerable wheels and hoofs that had passed over it. He reflected that if he had to swim it would be difficult, for he could not afford to part with his rifle, and the mail must be saved at all hazards. The one consoling thought was that should he be forced to support himself, it would be only for a few strokes. The creek was narrow, and when he was half way over, the water had not yet reached his waist. It did not seem likely that the depth would pass beyond that.

“And I’m mighty glad,” reflected Alden, beginning to step more confidently; “it isn’t so bad to get half your body soused, but when it comes to going all under—”

At that instant he went “all under.” It was as if he had stepped into a well a thousand feet deep. Not expecting anything of the kind, Alden was not prepared, and went down like a stone.