[12] Before long, the Red Cross began to pitch tents on high ground north of town. "We are staying right here," my father said.
[13] As the water continued to rise, I kept busy rowing through the house and looking at the furniture that had been too big to move upstairs. I liked to row around the great cozy couch, now almost submerged, and pretend it was an island in a lake.
[14] One night very late I was awakened by a tearing noise, like timbers creaking. Then there was the rumbling sound of heavy things falling. I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway. My parents were standing in the doorway to the den, where we had stored the books and my mother's beloved china.
[15] The floor of the den had fallen through, and all the treasures we had tried to save were now on the first floor, under the stealthily rising river. My father lit our camp light, and we went to the landing to look. We could see nothing except the books bobbing like little rafts on the water.
[16] Mother had been courageous, it seemed to me, through the ordeal of the flood. She was steady and calm, and kept things going in good order. But that night she sat on the top of the stairs with her head on her crossed arms and cried. I had never seen her like that, and there was a sound in her weeping that made me afraid. I wanted to help her, but I couldn't think of what I could possibly do. I just knew I had to figure out something.
每天我都坐在楼梯平台上，看着河水上涨。妈妈把楼上一间空余的卧室临时当作厨房，做一些简单的饭菜。我看得出来，她对我们将要面临的困境深感忧虑。爸爸坐在一条小渔船上来来去去。他担心的是他的病人以及可能突然蔓延开来的痢疾、肺炎和伤寒等诸多疾病。
不久，红十字会开始在小镇北面的高地上架设帐篷。“我们就呆在家里，”爸爸说。
河水继续上涨，我不停地划着船，在屋里来回穿梭，看一看那些没法搬上楼去的大件家具。我喜欢划到那张舒适的长沙发椅的四周转悠，如今它差不多浸在了水下，我把它设想成一座湖心岛。
一天深夜，我被一阵猛烈撕扯的声音惊醒，好像是木头在吱吱嘎嘎地断裂。然后传来重物坍塌时的隆隆声。我跳下床，冲进过道。爸妈正站在小书斋的门口，小书斋里存放着全家人的书籍和妈妈珍爱的那套瓷器。
小书斋的地板已经塌陷下去，我们一直没法保全的珍贵瓷器如今都落到楼下的地板上了，淹没在不停暗涨的河水里。爸爸点亮露营用的灯，我们借着灯光到楼梯平台上察看。除了书籍像小木筏一样飘浮在水面上，什么也看不见。
在我看来，妈妈一直勇敢地经受着这场洪水的严峻考验。她从容、镇静，把每一件事情都安排得有条不紊。可是那个晚上，她坐在楼梯口上抱头痛哭。我以前从未见过她这般伤心，她的哭声让我感到有些害怕。我想帮她，却又不知所措。我只知道我必须把什么事情弄清楚。
[17] The next morning, after breakfast, I did a geography lesson and then Mother said I could go downstairs and play in the boat. I rowed once around the down-stairs, avoiding the mess of timbers in the hall where the terrible accident had occurred. The books had begun to sink. I stared down into the dark water and could see nothing. It was right then that I got the idea.
[18] I made a hook from a wire coathanger and carefully fastened it to a weighted line. Then I let it sink and began to drag it slowly back and forth. I spent the next hour or so moving the boat and dragging my line--hoping to find pieces of my mother's lost treasure. But time after time the line came up empty.
[19] As the water rose day after day, I continued trying to recover some remnant of my mother's broken china. Soon, however, the water inside had risen to the stairway landing. On the day water covered the gutters outside, my father decided we would have to seek shelter in the tents on the hill. A powerboat was to pick us up that afternoon. We would leave by the porch roof.
[20] I spent the morning hurriedly securing things in my room. Then I got into my rowboat for the last time. I dragged my line through the water. Nothing. After some time I heard my parents calling, so I headed back toward the stairway. Just as I made the last turn, I snagged something.
[21] Holding my breath, I slowly raised my catch to the surface. As the dark water drained from it, I could make out the bright roses and gold leaf design. It seemed dazzling to me. I had found the gravy boat from my mother's china service. My line had caught on a small chip in the lip.
[22] My father called down to me again. "This is serious business," he said. "Let's go." So I stowed the treasure in my jacket and rowed as fast as I could to the stair landing.
第二天上午吃过早餐，我做完地理功课，妈妈说我可以下楼到船上去玩了。我在楼下划了一圈，绕开门厅头天晚上掉下来的乱七八糟的木料。水面上的书籍已经开始下沉。我盯着黑漆漆的水往下瞧，什么也看不见，就在这个时候我计上心来。
我用金属衣架做了一个钩子，小心翼翼地把它系到一根加重的绳子上。接着我将它沉入水中，开始缓慢地来回拖动。我花了大约一个小时，划船，拖绳----希望能够找到妈妈失去的那套珍贵的瓷器。但一次又一次，绳子拉上来，空无一物。
