He was too scared, one would have supposed, to think of much else than the peril of the flood sweeping the valley behind them; yet he stared up at Tom Cameron again and again as the auto hurried them on toward the safety of the higher ground about the Red Mill, and there was something very sly in his look.

“Ye warn’t hurt so bad then, arter all, was ye, Master Cameron?” he croaked.

“I reckon I shall live to get over it,” returned the boy, shortly.

“But no thanks to Jabe Potter—­ heh?  Ha!  I know, I know!”

Tom stared in return angrily, but the old man kept shaking his head and smiling up at him slily and in such a significant way that, had the boy not been so disturbed by what was going on behind them, he certainly would have demanded to know what the old fellow meant.

But the car was getting close to the long hill that mounted to the crest on which the Red Mill stood.  How much better would it have been for Jabez Potter and all concerned had he taken Doctor Davison’s advice and let out the water behind his dam!  But now he was not even at home to do anything before the thousands upon thousands of tons of water from the Minturn reservoir swept through the Red Mill dam.

They saw the foaming, yellow water spread over the country behind them; but within half a mile of the mill it gathered into narrower compass again because of the nature of the land, and the wave grew higher as it rushed down upon Potter’s dam.  The motor car puffed up the hill and halted before the mill door.

“Will we be safe here, Tom?” cried Helen, as pale as a ghost now, but too brave to give way.  “Are we safe?”

“We’re all right, I believe,” said Tom.

Jasper Parloe was already out of the car and ran into the mill.  Only the hired man was there, and he came to the door with a face whiter than it was naturally made by the flour dust.

“Come in, quick!” he cried to the young people.  “This mill can’t go—­ it’s too solid.”

Beyond the Red Mill the ground was low again; had the Camerons tried to keep on the road for home the flood would have overtaken the car.  And to take the road that branched off for Cheslow would have endangered the car, too.  In a few seconds the knoll on which the mill stood was an island!

The girls and Tom ran indoors.  They could hardly hear each other shout during the next few minutes.  The waters rose and poured over the dam, and part of it was swept out.  Great waves beat upon the river-wall of the mill.  And then, with a tearing crash of rent timbers and masonry, the front of the little office and the storeroom, built out over the river, was torn away.

From that quarter Jasper Parloe ran, yelling wildly.  Ruth saw him dart out of the far door of the mill, stooping low and with his coat over his head as though he expected the whole structure to fall about his ears.

But only that wall and the loading platform for the boats were sliced off by the flood.  Then the bulk of the angry waters swept past, carrying all sorts of debris before it, and no farther harm was done to the mill, or to Mr. Potter’s other buildings.