"Yes," said Virginia, who arose upon hearing the bottom of the boat grating upon the gravel, "and will be here in a moment."
Virginia was assisted to descend by her lover, and a moment later her father followed her. The other three men instantly set to work, and in ten minutes the boat was sufficiently lightened to make the attempt to get it afloat again. By the united efforts of the three it was shoved out into deep water, where, to their dismay, they saw it commence settling down, as though it were sinking.
"Begorrah! but what does that mane?" cried Pat, in astonishment.
"Hark! if I ain't mistaken, I hear the water rushing in its bottom."
With one bound, Waring sprang upon the gunwale, and descended into the cabin. One glance was sufficient. An immense hole had been stove in by the concussion, and a foot of water was already in the cabin. The flat-boat was now going down, and there was no hope of saving it.
With rare presence of mind, Waring leaped back into the water, and attempted to shove the boat far enough away to make it sink out of sight when it did go down, it being his wish that the Indians should discover nothing of their mishap when the moon arose, or in the morning. But in this he did not succeed. He had hardly touched his shoulder to it when he felt that it had already touched bottom, the water being scarcely eighteen inches deep—so low, in fact, that no one viewing it from the shore, would suspect its true condition.
"This is a little more than I suspected," said Waring, gloomily, as he stepped ashore. "That rotten old flat-boat will never do us one bit of good, with such a hole smashed in it."
"Can it not be repaired in the morning?" asked Mr. Lander, who seemed affected as little by adverse as by favorable circumstances.
"Repaired? no, we should never have ventured out on the river, in such an old hulk as that. But it can't be helped now; we must make the best of a bad bargain. When the moon rises, we'll get an idea of our situation."
"It may be," said Hezekiah, hoping to encourage Virginia, "that this island is near enough for us to wade to the main land."