The first they knew of their danger, the piece of wood that Sweetclover had been sitting on broke loose from the rest of the raft and began to float away and Kernel Cob jumped into the water to save her.
He caught the piece of wood with so much strength that he toppled Sweetclover over into the water, and then he lost his head, I mean not really his head, you know, but only that he got excited and let go of the stick.
The Villain, who couldn't swim at all, jumped in after them and all he did was to make matters worse.
Jackie Tar tried to tell them what to do, but they were too startled to pay any attention to him. So in he plunged and swam to them, for he was a very good swimmer.
When he reached them they were all floundering about, so he dived down and came up in the midst of them.
"Put your hands gently on my shoulders," he ordered, "and don't weigh down or you will push me under."
And when they had done this he looked about, but the raft was nowhere to be seen except for a few pieces of wood drifting about.
They were about a mile from shore, which is a pretty good swim for one man alone, but here he was with three others who couldn't swim one stroke.
But Jackie Tar was a brave sailor. Besides, he thought, "Here is a chance for me to show Kernel Cob that he is not the only brave person in the world."
"Pull off your coat," he shouted to the Villain, and the Villain pulled it off.