Perhaps, if Mr. Howbridge had been awakened at this time, his riper judgment might have pointed out facts that would have seemed to show flaws in Ruth’s idea. But Luke and Neale accepted the plan at its face value and went to work immediately. As well as they could in the starlight they began to drag certain fallen tree trunks together on the shore by the deep inlet, ready for the real task of building the raft. They had a rope and with its aid dragged the logs through the sands.
Agnes awoke and came out and insisted upon helping the young fellows. Ruth, too, was too restless and excited to remain idle. Before dawn—oh, long before!—all four of them had aching shoulders and backs and blistered palms. But they worked on without complaint, believing that they were at last doing something practical toward the recovery of the lost children.
CHAPTER XX—THE FLAG ON THE TREE-TOP
“But it is practical, Guardy!” cried Agnes, at breakfast. “You know our Ruth is always practical.”
“Far be it from me to say that it is not practical—theoretically,” rejoined Mr. Howbridge, referring, as Agnes did, to the idea of building a raft.
“I guess whatever will float us off this island after the Isobel is good enough to try,” said Neale O’Neil, just a little sullenly.
“We will do all that can be done with the idea, of course,” agreed Mr. Howbridge.
“But,” ventured Ruth slowly, herself a little timid now, “you see something dangerous about it?”
“I hope not, my dear girl.”
“Can’t we build a raft big enough to carry us all?” demanded Luke.