[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.