Although the girls rowed steadily and hard they made slow progress, pulling as they were against the wind. It seemed to Betty’s impatience that they fairly crawled along.
“Oh, dear, where is that old inlet, anyway?” sighed Amy, unconsciously uttering Betty’s thought. “Do you suppose we could have passed it, Betty?”
“Not with my eagle eye doing duty,” Betty assured her, cheerfully, but she was beginning to feel a bit anxious about it herself. Was it really possible that they had passed the spot? The foliage was very heavy all along the shore, the branches of trees, weighted with leaves, fairly dragging in the clear water. And there was another drop of rain—and another——
And then suddenly, almost in the act of passing, she saw the inlet, a narrow, beckoning little strip of water, welcoming them home.
Almost at the same moment the other girls espied it also and let out a yell of pure joy.
“Turn to the right!” shouted Mollie jubilantly. “We are making camp at last!”
CHAPTER XI
BURNED DOWN
Skillfully Betty maneuvered the little boat down the narrow neck of water, carefully avoiding the overhanging branches of trees. She was looking for just the right place to land.
The next moment she found it—a spot just made for the purpose. There was a smooth stretch, entirely cleared of bushes and tree stumps with an out-jutting bank that made an ideal landing.