Again he got the helpless man's head and shoulders on the gunwale.
"Hang on, damn you! Bite in!" he shouted, as he shifted his grip lower down.
One weak hand slipped off the gunwale, the fingers of the other hand relaxed, but Elijah obeyed, and his teeth held on.

When the lift came, his face ground forward, and the splintery wood tore and crushed the skin from nose, lips, and chin; and, face downward, he slipped on and down to the bottom of the boat till his limp middle collapsed across the gunwale and his legs hung down outside.

But they were only his legs, and Daylight shoved them in; after him.

Breathing heavily, he turned Elijah over on his back, and covered him with his robes.
The final task remained--the launching of the boat.

This, of necessity, was the severest of all, for he had been compelled to load his comrade in aft of the balance.