Chapter 49 Summary

"The Whole Story"

This chapter commences with the description of the flood of 1947, when Henry Crick obstinately refuses to leave the Atkinson cottage in the midst of a terrible flood. Tom Crick, as a volunteer rescue worker, is a part of a rescue boat that endeavors to persuade Henry to leave his cottage and be rescued. The lock has disappeared, and the Atkinson trunk has washed away from the attic and out to sea. Henry is very ill after rescue, but his old Phlegm returns, as he is nursed by Mary Metcalfe, soon to be Mary Crick.

Chapter 49 Analysis

This chapter brings to an end the Atkinson Lock and every thing about it that the Cricks had known. The powerful image of water as a destructive force, the battle between flood and reclamation is played out here, including the image of the Atkinson...