Suddenly Lettie saw Hiram and the girl beside him. She started, flushed a little, and then gave Hiram a cool little nod and turned her gaze from him. Her manner showed that he was not “down in her good books,” and the young fellow flushed in turn.
“I don't know as we'd better try to make the bank here, Miss,” said the man who was directing the motor-boat. “The current's mighty sharp.”
“I want to land here,” said Lettie, decidedly. “It's the prettiest spot we've seen—isn't it, girls?”
Her friends agreed. Hiram, casting a quick eye over the ruffled surface of the river, saw that the man was right. How well the stream below was fitted for motor-boating he did not know; but he was pretty sure that there were too many ledges just under the surface here to make it safe for the boat to go farther.
“I intend to land here-right by that big tree!” commanded Lettie Bronson, stamping her foot.
“Well, I dunno,” drawled the man; and just then the bow of the boat swung around, was forced heavily down stream by the current, and slam it went against a reef!
The man shot off the engine instantly. The bow of the boat was lodged on the rock, and tip-tilted considerably. The girls screamed, and Lettie herself was almost thrown into the water, for she was standing.
CHAPTER XVII. MR. PEPPER APPEARS
But Hiram noted again that Lettie Bronson did not display terror. While her friends were screaming and crying, she sat perfectly quiet, and for a minute said never a word.