Again Dot cried, "Oh! darling
Kangaroo, leave me here, and save yourself. You can never, never do it
carrying me!"
All she heard was something like "try," or "we'll die." She could not make
out what the Kangaroo said, for the crashing of the waterfall, the
whistling of the wind, and the scattering of stones as they dashed forward,
made such a storm of noises in her ears. She could see when they reached
the grassy fringe of the precipice, where the Kangaroo was able to quicken
her pace, and literally seemed to fly to their fate. Then came the last
bound before the great spring. Dot held her breath, and a feeling of
sickness came over her. Her head seemed giddy, and she could not see, but
she clasped her hands together and said, "God help my Kangaroo!" and then
she felt the fearful leap with the rush through the air.
Yes! they had reached the other side. No! they had not quite: what was the
matter? What a struggle! Stones falling, twigs and grasses wrenching, the
courageous Kangaroo fighting for a foothold on the very brink of the
precipice. What a terrible moment! Every second Dot felt sure they would
fall backward and drop deep into the gully below, to be dashed to pieces
on the rocks and the tree tops. But God did help Dot's Kangaroo; the
little reeds and rushes held tightly in the earth, and the poor struggling
animal, exerting all her remaining strength, gained the reedy slope safely.
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