Page:Moving Picture Boys and the Flood.djvu/121

Rh "Then it rained, and mamma and papa took a lot of things out of our house, over to grandma's house. Grandma lives on a hill."

"They must have moved their valuables out when they saw the flood rising," commented Joe.

"What happened after that?" asked Blake.

"It rained," said Charlie, simply. "Mamma and papa took more things over to grandma's, and I went to sleep. When I woke up it was all dark, and my bed was crooked. I guess I fell out of my bed," he added.

"That was when the house went upside-down, I guess he means," suggested Mr. Ringold. "I can imagine what happened," he went on, in a low tone, as the boy went to the after rail to watch the debris floating by. "His folks began carrying out their valuables, and left him in the house. They made one trip too many, and the house was carried away, and upset. Charlie was in it, and he stayed in it until we rescued him. Now we've just got to trust to luck to find his folks."

They were fairly out on the flooded Mississippi again, and from the manner in which they were tossed about, and swirled this way and that, it could easily be guessed that the river had been augmented during the night, and that more rain had fallen along the upper water-shed.