"Whatever happens," he said, "it will be a great comfort to you to realize that it's entirely my fault. On the other hand, if we had gotten back into that boat, we might have been drowned long before this."
A little later Phyllis said: "I'm about all in. It's too dark to see. I——"
"Couldn't have chosen a better camping site myself," said Herring humbly. "First thing to think of is the water-supply—and fuel. Now, here the fuel grows right out of the water——"
"We haven't any matches."
"Yes, we have; but they are wet and won't light."
"We'll die of cold before morning," said Phyllis; "there's no use pretending we won't."
"On the contrary. Now is the time to pretend all sorts of things. Did you ever try to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together?"
"Never."
"Well, try it. It will make you warmer than the fire would. Afterward we will play 'Paddy cake, Paddy cake,' and 'Bean Porridge hot.'"
"Do men in danger always carry on the way you do?" asked Phyllis.