It was a half-mile walk from our small house to the beach road, where the      16     would be waiting for us. But that morning Janet was much worse. She couldn’t make     17      walk. And I couldn’t carry her. The path to the beach was steep and narrow and     18     at the water’s edge.

I was a stranger far from home. I didn’t know     19     to turn for help. But I needed it badly. I hurried down to the beach and I found help. Four fishermen were about to go out for their morning  20  . I told them about my sick little sister. Could they help me get her down the     21    ? I hardly got the words out of my mouth     22     they dragged their boat back onto the sand. They climbed the hill with me. One looked at Janet and they    23     their heads. They talked softly to one another. “  24       sick to sit in a chair,” one said.

“Better carry her      25    in bed,” said another.

An iron cot（儿童床）    26     along the cliff ! I was frightened. How could they do it?    27     the men told me not to worry. “Truly easy, truly     28    ,” they said.

They tied a rope to each leg of the cot. Each of them threw a rope     29     his shoulder and held the end in one hand. I understood what they meant to do.     30     they carried the cot down the path, they would use the ropes to keep the cot     31    . But what if one of the men slipped and lost his balance? What would happen to him ― to the others ― to     32    ? The men just smiled at my alarm. “That     33     will make us even more careful,” they said.

The men went down the path. Every    34     was a careful one. Always the cot was level, with never a bump. When they reached the beach road, they quietly lifted Janet into the taxi.     35    , they stretched her out on the back seat.

We made the morning train for Tokyo. And there an ambulance was waiting to take Janet to the hospital. The doctor told me that I had got my little girl there just in time. Janet would be all right soon.