I grabbed in the dark for a hold-to, and
luckily seized the roots of a willow. At his end Joe did the same. We
hardly dared to breathe as we watched the doings on the other bank.
Lust, of blood or worse, and the fear of it, were there. The lighted
windows and the open door made every movement of the man and the girl
clearly visible. No one followed them. It was so ordinary an event to the
company, perhaps that it was not worth while leaving mirth and beer to see
the issue. But all serious elements in their affair changed abruptly and
to our instant jeopardy. On the very edge of the water the girl, knowing
her whereabouts to an inch, turned cleverly. The man, a stranger
obviously, ran on and pitched clean and far into the river, while she,
laughing and triumphant, scuttled back to the house. Her tale brought out
at once a spurt of men, yelling with joy, to watch the fun. Some of them
had snatched up lanterns and lighted candles, and they were followed later
by a fresh, older, shrieking woman who carried a huge, burning brand
plucked from the hearth.
Happily for us the river was shallow, for a couple of strokes would have
brought the man clean into us.
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