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Bingo sat cross legged on the raft, miserably huddled in a tight ball. They had been travelling for several hours, and the weather was no better. If anything, the rainfall was coming more frequently and could no longer be described as light drizzle. The optimism of the early morning slowly eroded as sheets of rain continued to fall and the sun disappeared behind an ominous bank of grey clouds.
Bingo had initially pulled the woolen cape around his shoulders and tugged its hood over his head in a vain attempt to ward off the worst of the rain. But after several hours travelling down river, his cape was drenched and offered little protection. Worst of all the wind seemed to be picking up and the current was running faster, with the raft bobbing crazily in the water. The combination was not good. Bingo sat shivering in the front of the raft, with water dripping off the end of his nose. He wondered if Sondo would call a halt for lunch. Not that he felt much like eating. But he would give a great deal to have steady ground underneath his feet. His breakfast apple had been no more than half-ripe and was still bouncing inside his stomach. As the raft lurched forward, its front edge tilting up and down, Bingo suddenly felt very queasy and light headed.
Turning to the companion next to him, he groaned, "I think I'm going to be seasick."
The other hobbit eyed him warily, "Seasick? You can't be 'seasick' in a river. And I thought you'd been on boats before!"
"Yes, but never in rain and wind like this with the raft going up and down. Maybe you're not supposed to get seasick on rivers, but my stomach feels awfully funny."
Bingo's face was taut and tinged with a sickly greenish hue. He was becoming desperate. "Excuse me please," he cried out to anyone who would listen. "Do you think we might stop for lunch and take some shelter from this rain. Anyways, if we don't stop soon, I think I am going to be sick......"
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