"Well—I'm not afraid," said Tom stoutly. "And as for you, Andy, I really don't believe anything in the world would frighten you!"
"Oh yes, it would," said Andy. "But I'd not show I was frightened! Look, Tom—you can see all the islands now!"
The boys stood on the raft, holding on to the mast and looked back on the cluster of islands. They lay in the sea together, and looked very small now that the boys were so far off. They could no longer see the girls. And soon even the islands too woukl disappear—then the boys would be quite alone on the wide sea.
"Do you really know which way to go, Andy?" said Tom.
"More or less," said Andy. "I can guide the raft by the sun in the day-time, and by the stars at night. It's a good thing for us that the wind is just in the right direction. I hope it lasts. It's easy enough now—but if the wind changes, things will be very difficult!"
Now the boys could no longer see any land at all. They were alone on the wide green sea. Below them the water was very, very deep. The sea was not rough, but a little choppy, and the raft bobbed like a cork over the waves. Every now and again a wave hopped over the side and wetted the deck of the raft. The boys got used to this and didn't even move when a wave reared its head to run across the raft.
Tom dragged his hand in the cool water. He liked the movement of the raft running over the sea. The sun shone steadily down and the boys became very hot. Tom took off his jersey and hung it safely over the top of the mast, out of reach of the waves.
"Golly! I'm cooking!" he said. Luckily the boys had got hats with them, and these shaded the sun from their heads or they might have felt sick. The sun blazed down, and at last the boys let themselves drop into the sea, holding on to the edge of the raft all the time. This cooled them a little, and they scrambled back wet and panting.
"It would be an awful thing if one of us let go the raft," said Tom. "It's going at such a pace that it would soon leave us behind in the sea and we'd never be found again."
"Well, for goodness' sake hang on tightly then, next time we cool ourselves," said Andy. "What about something to eat?"