“I yelled out, ‛You’d better go below!’” said the boatman; “and Joe, he put up his hands like this, and called, ‛Reef that tail or you’ll capsize!’ But we had to run for our lives then, and I couldn’t see what the cat did next.”
“I bet you she’s safe,” said “Joe,” as Eunice hid her face on Franklin’s arm. “You won’t catch any feline getting her paws wet, when she’s got a dry locker to crawl into!”
“The first thing is to find the boat,” said Franklin, patting Eunice’s curls. “That’s a brave girl, Sis, not to cry.”
“P’r’aps she’s wrecked,” said Fred Lane, who could think about such trifles as boats, because he had never known Weejums.
“No, she ain’t!” said Franklin, fiercely. “See here, Sis, we’ll borrow a horse and ride along the shore to see if she’s beached anywhere.”
“And we’ll tell all the steamboat captains to look out for her,” added Joe.
“And me an’ Joe’ll do a little cruising around, ourselves,” said the other boatman.
“Say, you’re mighty good,” said Franklin, offering them his hand.
“We’ll never forget what you did for her,” said Fred, meaning the boat.
“You will find her, won’t you?” said Eunice, meaning the cat.