"Sure! We'll pull the raft up to the bank by the chains, an' then push her out again with our peavies."
So the two scrambled down from the logs and hunted about for two long sticks that would answer for the peavies the timber-jacks used. After finding two desirable poles, the twins ran down to the river to pull in the raft.
This was not quite so easy as it would seem, for the logs were water-soaked after a long winter in the water, but after a long tiresome haul they brought the raft near enough to board it by climbing out over a huge cake of ice.
"But we can't reach the logs from here!" cried Dot, finding that they were on the other side of the ice-cake.
"We'll have to shove that iceberg out into the river," said Don, looking about for the best channel to work through.
"Let's push our raft up behind it and then we can push the ice easier," advised Dot.
This was sensible, so both children pushed their peavies into some smaller ice floes and managed to move the ponderous raft into a position so the large ice-floe could be moved. The ice was thick and the weight of it made it sink down low in the water, but after many breathless efforts it was moved out of the way far enough to permit the twins to work the raft in closer to shore. Here they met with a new difficulty, for the logs were still clinging to the ground with frost and were not to be coaxed into the water.
"If we only had cant-hooks so we could yank them in!" sighed Dot.
"Guess I'll have to jump ashore and try to tip one of those top logs down," said Don, looking up at the pile they had sat upon.
"Pooh! you can't budge them a mite! It takes two men with hooks to pull them out," said Dot.