“Would I! Would a duck swim or a monkey eat peanuts? I’d give all I’m worth to be safe and sound again at home or at Colby Hall. Gosh! it seems as if we had been away for ages.”
Nothing that night disturbed the party, and all were stirring early, each wondering what they might do to get out of their predicament. To stay on the lonely little island indefinitely was unthinkable. Besides, they felt they must let their parents know of their whereabouts at the earliest possible moment.
When Andy was dressing, Jack noticed that Andy was surveying his injured ankle quite seriously. The fun-loving Rover boy had lost much of his light-heartedness.
“Does it still hurt, Andy?” he questioned kindly.
“A little, Jack. But I don’t mind that so much,” was the sober reply. “It’s when I try to walk. It doesn’t seem to act like it used to.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s stiff. I can’t bend it, and it makes me walk sort of flat-footed. Haven’t you noticed it?”
“I thought you limped a little.”
“It’s worse than that. I don’t know what to make of it. But I certainly don’t want to walk with a limp all the rest of my life.”
“Oh, don’t think of such a thing!” exclaimed Jack, in dismay. His cousin had always been so acrobatic that to think of his being lame filled the young major with dismay.