“Oh-oo-ee!” squealed Dot, raking wildly with one of the nets. “I almost caught one.”
“But we’re adrift, Dot!” cried Tess.
The younger girl was not so much impressed at first. “Oh, I guess they’ll come for us,” she said.
“But Ruth and Aggie can’t reach us—’nless they swim.”
“Won’t we float ashore again? We floated out here,” said Dot.
She refused to be frightened, and Tess bethought her that she had no right to let her little sister be disturbed too much. She was old enough herself, however, to see that there was peril in this involuntary voyage. The tide was coming in strongly and the boat was quickly passing the bend. Before either Tess or Dot thought to cry out for help, they were out of sight of the camp and there was nobody to whom to call.
Tom Jonah had crouched down in the stern, with his head on his paws. He felt that he had done his duty. He had not allowed the two small girls to go without him on this voyage. He was with them; what harm could befall?
“I—I guess Alice would like to go ashore, Tess,” hesitated Dot, at last, having seized her doll and sat down upon one of the seats. The boat was jumping a good deal as the little waves slapped her, first on one side and then on the other. Without anybody steering she made a hard passage of it.
“I’d like to get ashore myself, child,” snapped Tess. “But I don’t see how we are going to do it.”
“Oh, Tess! are we going to be carried ’way out to sea?”