The keeper only threw back his head and laughed harder than ever, completely unfazed by Jack’s promise, confident that he would never see the boys again. That was the end of their conversation, for Neil and Jack were quickly swept around a bend, and the keeper disappeared from view.
Now, their attention shifted solely toward staying afloat in the angry river. They were being propelled downstream at an impressive speed, to destinations unknown. The force of the river was substantial, and it was all they could do to keep their heads above the water. They gasped and sputtered as the cold water periodically found its way into their mouths and down their throats.
“Hang in there, buddy!” Neil hollered.
“Where do you think we’re going?” asked Jack.
“I suppose this river will just deposit us into the ocean eventually, and then we can just swim back to shore,” said Neil. “Right? I mean, really, what’s the-”
“Don’t say it!” Jack interrupted.
“I was just going to say-”
“I know what you were going to say!” Jack assured him.
“But, really, Jack - what’s the worst that could happen?” Neil asked with a good-natured giggle.
“You just had to say it, didn’t you? You’re really tempting fate, Neil!”
“Aw, come on, dude, this could have been soooo much worse! This water’s sort of invigorating, isn’t it? There’s nothing quite like an ice cold dunking to pep you up!”
“That’s for sure,” Jack agreed. “And it’s not as if we haven’t already gotten soaked once today!”
“Woof!” came the bark of Nibbler, much closer than the boys would have expected.
They turned their heads toward the barking, and saw that Nibbler had managed to find a way down the steep slopes of the ravine. He now ran beside them along the riverbank, woofing frantically, anxious and upset that there was nothing he could do to help.
Murphy had also worked his way down the ravine, and he scampered along on all fours, keeping pace with the floating boys as they were swept downriver.
“Hey, guys!” Jack called. “Don’t worry about us; just stay over there on dry land. I’m sure we’ll be carried into a slow spot soon enough, and then we can swim to shore.”
“Uh… I’m afraid I have some bad news about that,” Neil said.
“What?” asked Jack. “It’s got to slow down before we get to the ocean… right?”
Neil was suspiciously avoiding eye contact with Jack, and his attention was riveted at some point ahead. “Uh…” he sputtered, spitting out water as a wave hit him in the face.
“Right?”
“Well, you might want to take a look-see at what’s coming up here, buddy,” Neil advised.
Jack pivoted forward. “Egads!”
“I know, I know,” Neil told him.
“Neil, that’s a…”
“Yep, it sure is, isn’t it?”
“This is bad, this is really bad!”
“I’m sure something will occur to us…” Neil said in a manner that was rather vague.
“I sure hope it occurs to us quickly, because it looks like we don’t have much time!”
Nibbler woofed in agreement, anxiously trying to hurry the boys toward a solution.
Above the sound of the noisy, rushing river, something else could be heard, and it was growing louder - a monotonous, powerful roar. The source of the noise (judging from the awesome spray that was flying every which way) was a most bodacious waterfall.
The boys were sure the waterfall would have been plenty cool to observe from afar. But they were less than optimistic regarding the notion of riding down it, without so much as a life preserver to protect them.
They had no idea how tall the waterfall was, nor did they have any idea of how rough the landing would be. Would they be deposited onto an assorted pile of sharp rocks? Would they be able to fight their way back to the surface? Or would the force of the landing render them dazed, futilely struggling against a powerful tide?
“Not good!” Jack declared, in a most passionate embrace of the obvious.
“We seem to be coming up on the edge of that waterfall pretty quickly,” Neil noted. “The river’s just sweeping us right into it, don’t you think?”
“I know, I know!” Jack assured him.
The two of them were desperately swimming with all their strength, trying to angle their way toward the edge of the river so they could pull themselves onto land. But the current was too strong, and it propelled them along with increasing speed.
Nibbler and Murphy could also detect the impending danger, and they grew increasingly anxious as they ran along the riverbank. Murphy was surprisingly quick on his feet, and he raced ahead, scouting out the area where the edge of the river disappeared and the waterfall began. After a quick examination of the drop that the waterfall consisted of, he scrambled onto a dead tree that lay by the side of the river.
Apparently, the tree had fallen quite some time ago, and some of the branches had dried out to the point where they had broken free from the trunk. It was upon one of these dead branches that Murphy now scampered, and once atop it, he began squeaking as loudly as he could.
He jumped up and down, and with his squirrelly paws, he pointed at the branch in desperation. It was a curious display, but he did manage to grab the attention of Nibbler.
The Labradoodle immediately intuited the meaning of Murphy’s gestures. Though it seemed completely implausible that these two animals would have any hope of rescuing the boys as they were speedily swept toward the looming waterfall, one must take into consideration that these were not ordinary creatures.
Murphy was the beneficiary of scientifically enhanced intelligence, bestowed by Lefty’s scientist sister in what had been known as Project Acorn. This process had transformed him into what was almost certainly the brightest rodent on the face of the planet.
Murphy was a master of mischief, pranks, and booby traps, but he could also use his noggin for more useful purposes, when he felt inclined to do so. And Nibbler was simply a freak of nature when it came to the department of brains, as he had proven time and time again.
With Murphy squeaking his encouragement, Nibbler bit into the dry, dead branch. He began pulling at it, and the few remaining plant fibers that were attached to the tree trunk were wrenched free with a splintering crack. Dragging it to the very edge of the river, he lodged it in place between two large stones, while Murphy assisted as best he could. The squirrel lacked the dog’s strength, but he had the benefit of wonderful dexterity with his paws.
The boys were picking up speed, quickly coming up on the place where Nibbler and Murphy were doing their work. The roaring of the waterfall was loud in their ears, and spray was filling the air.
“That’s it, Nibbler! Keep it up!” Neil encouraged.
“I can’t believe they have the presence of mind to do this - these two are constantly surprising me!” Jack exclaimed with wonder.
“Just be grateful they’ve got more sense than most people,” Neil said. “Now, get ready to grab on!”
They would just barely be able to grab the branch as they flew by, they realized. Reaching as far as he could, Neil strained and stretched, and his hand wrapped around the end of the branch.
He felt his hand start to slip, but then he tightened his grip on the rough surface of the bark, squeezing for all he was worth, just as if he were trying to secure a fly ball in the webbing of his glove while patrolling centerfield.
The branch began to give, flexing and bending from the force that had been put upon it. But the animals held on; Nibbler with his teeth, and Murphy with his paws. Together, they kept the end of the branch wedged between the rocks that were anchoring it.
Jack was slightly closer to the riverbank, but he struck the branch with so much force, he was pushed away from it after he hit it. He bounced roughly down the length of the branch, clutching for a secure grip as the current propelled him along. He desperately reached and grabbed, and it was upon Neil’s
shirt that he finally found a secure hold.
“I got ya, you slippery tomato!” Neil assured his friend, grabbing his upper arm.
The two held onto one another for dear life, and as Nibbler and Murphy helped hold the branch in place, they clumsily made their way onto dry land. After finally clambering ashore, they collapsed in exhaustion.
For some time, they could do nothing but heave with heavy breath, staring at the sun above them as they lay on their backs.
Nibbler was exceedingly happy to see that the boys were safe, and he expressed this by licking their faces. Murphy took turns bouncing atop each of their chests, snickering in his squirrelly way.
“Good work, guys,” Jack wheezed in gratitude.
“Ditto,” Neil gasped.
Chapter Nineteen
A Deceptive Distance
The Green Beans, Volume 4: Shipwrecked on Smuttynose Island Page 18
