Tim chose his course near to the opposite shore, and I followed his lead closely, guided largely by the splashing of Elsie's animal through the shallow water.

Our movement was a very slow and cautious one, Kennedy halting frequently to assure himself that the passage ahead was safe.

Fortunately the bottom was firm and the current not particularly strong, our greatest obstacle being the low-hanging branches which swept against us.

Much of my time was expended in holding these back from contact with Eloise's face, our horses sedately plodding along behind their leaders.
I think we must have waded thus to exceed a mile when we came to a fork in the stream and plumped into a tangle of uprooted trees, which ended our further progress.

Between the two branches, after a little search, we discovered a gravelly beach, on which the horses' hoofs would leave few permanent marks.