“But not so far,” interrupted Mr. Doane.
“Oh, well, maybe,” acceded Tom. “But anyway, we don’t have to take her in the launch—”
“I should say not!” cried out Gloria, while the other girls gathered in their scant skirts apprehensively.
“’Course you don’t have to take her in the launch,” echoed George Alton, who was the best “echoer” in the party, but never seemed able to send out an original suggestion.
“She could float,” lisped Neddie, trying to take care of his own sandwich, while he ate the one Ranny gave him.
They were too busy thinking to laugh. The goat must be brought back to Barbend, but how?
“A raft!” exclaimed Tom, who had considered and disregarded almost every other craft for the visiting goat.
“That’s it,” replied Mr. Doane, smiling broadly. “I was just waiting to see if any scout would think of that.”
“Sure, that’s it, a raft,” repeated Jerry quite as if he had been waiting to give out the information. “We can make it—easy.”
“How?” asked Ranny. He had not complete faith in Jerry’s ideas.