“And we’re likely to meet them again, unless I’m very much mistaken,” Case warned. “I don’t believe they went down after the raft at all.”
“What was that you said about swimming over to the shore?” asked Alex.
“To get a fish for dinner,” Jule cried.
Alex dashed into the cabin, tumbled about in the wreckage for a short time, and came out clad only in a bathing suit.
“I’m going to swim to shore all right,” he said, “but I’m not going over there to get a fish for dinner.”
“If you see one, catch him by the tail,” Case shouted as the boy entered the water.
Alex wrinkled a bruised nose in the direction of the sand bar and dived under, to reappear on the shore line a couple of seconds later.
“Now, what do you think that little monkey is after?” asked Jule.
Captain Joe and Teddy seemed to be asking themselves the same question. At any rate, they decided to go and see, and both were soon in the water. The boys saw Alex race up a sandy bluff and disappear in a thicket.
Here and there on the other side of the river were scattered houses, but he seemed to pay no attention to these. The animals trotted after him and soon all were out of sight. The boy was gone only a short time and when he returned on board and dressed his face looked anxious.