Page 26 of Eleanor’s Earrings

“That is a poor plan,” Eleanor said.

“Do you have a better one?”

“Not yet.”

“Then hold this.”

He gave her the rope.

Eleanor wrapped it around her forearm and joined the line of men bracing it. Nathaniel waded into the river with another rope over his shoulder.

The water struck him hard enough to stagger him.

Eleanor's heart stopped.

“Hold!” he shouted.

They held.

Nathaniel moved farther downstream, feeling for each step. The ferry was closer now. One wheel of the wagon hung partly over the platform's edge. The team had been unhitched before the crossing, thank God, but three men clung to the ferry rail.

Nathaniel threw the second line.

It fell short.

The current swept it back.

He dragged it in and tried again. This time one of the men on the ferry caught it and looped it around a post.

“Pull!” Nathaniel shouted.

Everyone leaned backward. The rope cut into Eleanor's palms through her gloves. The ferry slowed, then shifted toward the shallows.

A floating crate struck Nathaniel from the side.

He fell.

Eleanor dropped the rope before she could think.

“Eleanor!” Caroline screamed.

She ran into the water and caught the line around Nathaniel's waist. Two men followed her, taking the weight as the current pulled him downstream.

Nathaniel came up coughing. “Get back!”

“You are welcome!” Eleanor shouted.

“Back to shore!”

“Stop giving orders while drowning!”

He found his footing. Together they moved toward the bank while the men behind them pulled.

The ferry struck the shallows with a jolt. The wagon shifted but remained upright. Men rushed into the water and secured the platform with additional lines.

No one had died.

Eleanor stood waist-deep in the river, shaking from cold and fear. Nathaniel caught her arm.