[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。

河水日复一日地涨个不停，我继续尝试着去找回妈妈的哪怕是一些已经破损的瓷器的残片。可是不多时，楼下的河水已涨到了楼梯平台上。河水淹上房外檐槽的那一天，爸爸决定，我们必须到山上的帐篷里寻求庇护了。当天下午有一艘汽艇来接我们，我们将从前廊的屋顶上撤离。

我上午匆匆忙忙地将我房间里的东西捆牢。然后我跳上划艇准备作最后一次努力。我把绳子拖过水面。什么也没有。过了一会儿，听到爸妈在叫，我只好朝着楼梯的方向往回划。就在我转最后一个弯时，我钩住了什么东西。

我屏住呼吸，慢慢地将打捞到的物品拉上水面。它刚一浮出黑色的河水，我就辨认出鲜亮的玫瑰以及金色的花瓣图案。我感到一阵晕眩。我竟然找到了妈妈那套瓷器中的这只船形肉卤盘。我的绳子刚好挂住了这只瓷盘边上的一个小缺口。

爸爸又在朝下喊我。“这可不是闹着玩的，”他说。“咱们快走。”我便把这件宝物藏在上衣里，尽快地朝楼梯平台划过去。