"Sit down!" sang the cheerful Nell. "Sit down, you're rocking the boat!"
"But I want to help!" complained Amy.
"You did your helping when you got rid of that rudder," returned Nell, comfortingly. "Do be still, Amy Drew!"
"How can one be still in such a jerky, pitching boat?" gasped the other girl. "Do—do you think you can reach land, Jessie Norwood?"
"I've hopes of it," responded her chum. "It isn't very far."
"I wonder how far it is to—to land underneath the keel?" sputtered Amy.
"For pity's sake stop that!" cried Nell Stanley. "Don't suggest such gloomy and gruesome things."
"Well," grumbled Amy, "I believe it's the nearest land."
"I shouldn't be surprised," panted Jessie. "But don't talk about it, Amy."