Beadle's Dime Novels No. 35: East and West — page 53: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE PRAIRIE FLOODED. 53 In an instant Nat was in the water, had seized the timber, and was supporting Mr. Willard upon it, until he could recover power to swim the few feet to the shore; and Minnie —she was standing erect, pole in hand, on the beam of the flood-gate, which the men sat astride, and pikeing off the planks from Nat and her brother. The second timber was chained round, and safely brought to shore by Constance and Mrs. Willard—Constance feeling constrained to follow Min- nie’s example in aiding the desperate efforts of the men. As the teamsters now made their appearance, fresh help Was obtained—the oxen put in requisition to haul the timbers upon dry land, and the danger to the dam averted, at least from one source. Nat received, while in the water, a severe blow upon his left arm, above the elbow, which was likely to prove a temporary inconvenience by partially disabling him. Mr. Willard was so chilled and exhausted as to have to be put in bed, and Frank was not much better off. It was an excited and weary party that took dinner that day at Mr. Willard’s table. The boats being all on the other Side, and the bridge gone, the men were invited to eat with the family until some means of crossing were established. There was no time to attend to such matters now ; for it was discovered that there were signs of the earth washing out around the end of the dam toward the house, by the same process which had undermined the bridge. 3 Accordingly, all hands set to work again as soon as dinne Was over, collecting sods, Fletcher Harris included. Then began the work of filling in, at which Minnie and Constance assisted by handing the brush. In a few hours the job was completed, and every thing done which could be done to Tender the mill-property secure. When the family had time to look, they beheld themselves Cneircled, cnosh at « diets © a mile, on three sides, by a 8ea, which had crept so silé™fly around them as not to have been before observed. True, of course, it was a shallow sea— the water from the river having found its way up nearly to the blaffs, through numerous sloughs which overflowed upon all the prairie not sufficiently elevated to escape inundation ; but to the eye, and to the excited imagination of Constance, it Seemed full of the terrible power and mystery of all seas. comlcbdooks.com