"No," screamed Bet to make herself heard. "Just keep still and don't even speak to me. I need every breath to work with."
The boat tossed and plunged. "It acts like a bucking horse when they put on a saddle for the first time," thought Kit. The bow of the canoe was lifted straight up and then lowered on a wave. For a second it rested only to meet another swell.
Sometimes Bet raised her eyes and looked anxiously down the river. The squall was coming straight toward them; travelling with the wind, it was racing over the water.
The little boat rolled and plunged as the blinding sheet of rain enveloped it, shutting out for a moment the shore on both sides of the river.
Spray broke over the sides and soaked the girls to the skin.
"There's a can there, Kit. Try to keep the water baled out." It was all she could do to make Kit hear, even when she screamed with all her might.
Bet's arms were aching, her eyes strained with the nerve tension and the strength that she was giving out to keep the boat from being engulfed.
While Kit would have gladly relieved her, she had never handled a paddle in her life and now was not the time to experiment.
"It can't be far now," muttered Bet between her clenched teeth. It seemed to the girl that she had been paddling for hours.
Bet spoke again: "Scream for help, Kit! Someone may hear, but it's not likely. Scream anyway!"