“Yes,” said her father, “I think there is considerable danger.”
“What! that we shall get drowned?” exclaimed Lucy.
“No,” replied her father; “only that we shall get upset.”
“Well, father,” said Lucy, “if we get upset, we shall certainly be drowned.”
“O no,” replied her father; “the water isn’t deep enough to drown us anywhere, if we stand upright upon the bottom. And then, besides, there is no danger that we shall be upset, unless where it is very shallow indeed. The current may sweep us away down the stream, so that we shall lose command of the boat, and then, if we strike a large stone, or a sunken log, the boat might fill or go over; but, then, in the places where the current is so rapid, the water is nowhere more than knee deep. Now you may go with us or not, just as you please.”
“Royal, what would you do?” said Lucy.
“O, I’d go,” said Royal, “by all means.”
“Would you, father?” asked Lucy.
“Yes,” said her father, “unless you are very much afraid.”
Lucy said she was a little afraid, but not much; and she cautiously stepped into the boat. Royal got in after her, and when the two children had taken their seats, their father followed them, and took his place in the stern, with one of the paddles. Royal had the other. The stern is the hinder part of a boat. The forward part is called the bows. There was a chain attached to the bows of the boat, by which it had been fastened to the shore.