“Find a board and use it for a paddle,” says I.
He looked at me disgusted and shook his head. “I’m s’prised at you, B-B-Binney. You don’t think Jiggins ’u’d ’a’ l-left any b-boards around handy, do you? Not him.”
“Well,” I says next, “what’s the matter with just piling into the canoe and shovin’ off? We’d git somewheres, and somewheres else is better ’n bein’ here.”
He thought a minnit or so. “’Tain’t p-p-practical,” says he. “We dun’no’ where we are, do we? Nor how to g-git any place? But,” says he, “there hain’t n-n-nothin’ else to do. We’ll run ashore or git wrecked or somethin’, but come on.”
I held the boat while he scrambled in, and was just going to get in myself when Jiggins spoke up from the dark behind us and says: “Better not start off in the dark, boys. Better not. ’Tain’t advisable. See it for yourselves. Stay ashore. To be sure.”
I was so surprised I didn’t say a word, and I guess Mark was surprised too. But he didn’t let on.
“I was expectin’ you’d c-c-come along next,” says he.
“I sort of figgered you’d try something to-night,” says Jiggins.
“It was carelessness, me f-f-forgettin’ those paddles,” says Mark.
“Fellow can’t think of everything,” says Jiggins, like he was trying to keep Mark from feeling bad. “Better come back to bed. Need sleep. So do I. So does Collins.”