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Then,
each manning a clumsy oar, they pulled up-stream. Along shore were whirling,
slow eddies, and there rowing was possible. Out in that swift current it would
have been folly to try to contend with it, let alone make progress. The method
of crossing was to row up along the shore as far as a great cape of rock
jutting out, and there make into the current, and while drifting down pull
hard to reach the landing opposite. Heavily laden as the boat was, the chances
were not wholly in favor of a successful crossing.
Lucy watched the slow, laborious struggle of the boatmen with the heavy oars
until she suddenly remembered the object of her visit down to the ford. She
appeared to be alone on her side of the river. At the landing opposite,
however, were two men; and presently Lucy recognized Joel Creech and his
father. A second glance showed Indians with burros, evidently waiting for the
boat. Joel Creech jumped into a skiff and shoved off. The elder man, judging
by his motions, seemed to be trying to prevent his son from leaving the shore.


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