It seemed to her as though something had collided with the "Red Rover." Then came a second crash, much louder than the first.
The second was followed by a sound of breaking woodwork.

A draught of cold air smote her in the face, then a huge volume of water swept into the cabin overwhelming and half drowning the occupants.
Cots were overturned, the oil stove went over with a crash, and the table was hurled the length of the cabin, landing bottom side up at the rear end of the cabin.
A chorus of terrified, choking screams followed the second crash, that, to their overwrought imaginations, seemed to have lasted for hours.
"Thave me! We're thinking!" wailed Tommy Thompson.
"Harriet! What has happened ?" cried Miss Elting.
"I--I don't know." The "Red Rover" lurched heavily to one side.

The rush of water that accompanied the lurch tumbled the Meadow-Brook Girls to the lower side of the cabin.

A volume of water rushed over them, and the furnishings of the cabin were piled on top of them; in some instances a crushing weight pinioned them to the floor.
The houseboat had sustained a severe blow, though as yet they could not determine the nature of it.

To make the situation more terrifying the cabin was in utter darkness.