Icy Rescue---Part 2

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Like two seasoned riverboat captains, Daniel and Adam discussed each curve and bend in the river. “The river is high and moving faster than usual, but I don’t figure that we’ll run into anymore problems,” Daniel stated as he leaned back onto his elbows. Adam sat up slowly and looked out across the river. “You know, this is really great, floating on the river without a care in the world. This is a true adventure! Don’t you think so, Daniel?” Daniel straightened up, “Yeah, this is great; too bad we didn’t bring something along to munch on. Hey! Look! There’s the first raft we built.” Daniel shouted, pointing to the riverbank. Adam quickly turned his head. “You’re right, it is our raft. Do you want to get it and tow it behind?” “Yeah,” Daniel said, “That way we can keep the two rafts together.” Steering the raft toward shore turned out to be quite a task. The boys only had one long-handled paddle which they had designed especially for the raft. After exerting a lot of muscle power they reached the riverbank where their first raft, smaller in size, bobbed in the water. Tying the rope from the small aft to the large raft Daniel and Adam continued down the river. Up ahead, the river curved sharply. In the middle of the river, a large group of trees were sticking out of the flooded island. Daniel and Adam paddled quickly to avoid slamming into the trees. Finally, their aching arm muscles would not move the paddle anymore. The brisk winter wind cooled their sweaty faces. “It’s no use Adam,” Daniel panted as his arms limply held the giant paddle. Adam braced himself. ”Get ready to crash into the trees, Daniel!” CRASH! The two rafts slammed into the trees. “Well, at least the rafts didn’t fall apart. Now we know that we built pretty sturdy rafts.” Daniel spoke half-heartedly. “Let’s try and push the two rafts away from the trees,” Adam suggested. Sitting on the edge of the larger raft Daniel pushed against the trees with the paddle. Adam, being taller, used his long legs to push. Their muscles bulged. Their breath came in short gasps. “Try again, on the count of three,” Adam grunted.