doubt of that. But providentially Ruth flashed a glance across the
stream. She saw the party there all screaming at her and waving their
arms madly. Jennie was just dragging Helen back from the rising flood
of the turbulent river. Ruth saw by their actions that they were trying
to draw her attention to something behind her.

She swung about and looked up the almost sheer bluff.

Ruth Fielding was not lacking in quick comprehension. A single glance at
the descending avalanche of logs was sufficient to make her understand
the peril. She knew that she could not clear the hurtling timbers by
running either up stream or down. The way was too rough. As well as Jim
Hooley, she knew that escape was only possible by leaping into the
river. And that chance was rather uncertain.

Ruth was dressed for the rough outdoor life she was living. She wore
high, laced boots, a short skirt, knickerbockers, a blouse, and a
broad-brimmed hat.

When she turned to face the turbulent stream the rocking timbers coming
down with the released water almost filled the pool before the
endangered girl.

Had she worn caulks on the soles of her boots, as did the foreman who
had cut the boom, and been practised as he was in "running the logs,"
Ruth would have stood a better chance of escaping the plunging
avalanche. As it was, she was not wholly helpless.

She had picked up a peavey one of the timbermen had left on this bank
and was using is as a staff as she watched the "freshet" start. Warned