That was not the case, however. Gwen, crouching in the tub, had waited quite patiently, watching for Max who was to return with Jack, while the tub bobbed and danced on the shallow water, and for a time she had found it rather amusing.
The clumsy craft had floated lightly, now toward the beach, now away, and she felt no fear because as often as a receding wave took her a few feet from the beach, an incoming wave brought her back.
Then the unexpected happened.
The tide had been turning, and a big wave snatched at the tub, bearing it farther out than it had yet been, while the next inrolling wave went up onto the beach without so much as touching it.
Gwen screamed with fright, when she saw that now the tub was steadily going away from the shore.
There was no one in sight, and she sank in a little heap on the bottom of the tub, too tired to continue shouting, and frightened at the thought of drifting out to sea.
The gulls flew down and looked at her as if wondering what she might be, and Gwen cowered, afraid of their great, flapping wings.
No one could say what might have happened, but just at the moment when her last bit of courage had fled, a fortunate thing occurred.
A tiny fishing craft was coming in, and as it neared the shore, one of the crew spied the floating tub, then a few moments later the man exclaimed:
"Why, there's a child in that leaky old tub, as true as I live!"