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 plank towards the rapids that all had said would engulf him. But here once again fate and nature were kinder than men, for the downfall of sleet that had sent the horsemen scurrying to cover, froze upon Redcoat's coat and for the time being froze him to the plank almost as though he had been glued down.

Redcoat was not as much afraid of the river as he had been of the horsemen and hounds, so he crouched with his nose on his paws and watched the swirling water, while his plank swept on to the rapids. Presently he was in among the eddying swirling currents, where dark rocks reared their menacing heads and white foam danced on the swirling water. He went so rapidly and the plank changed its position so often that it made him dizzy. He would be rushing straight at a rock with every seeming chance of striking it but just at the right moment the current would suck the little bark clear of the rock and it would go rushing on. The rapids were about two miles in length, but it seemed to Redcoat that he was