“Hey, be careful!” Brad warned.
The flower root was long and tough. As Dan tugged, the canoe rocked dangerously.
“You’ll upset us!” Brad exclaimed. “Hey, watch that paddle!”
The canoe had given a convulsive movement. Before Dan could snatch the paddle, it slid into the river.
“There it goes!” Brad declared in disgust. “Of all the dumb tricks! A fine example we’re setting the other Cubs in water safety. I just hope they didn’t see that!”
“Gosh, I’m sorry,” Dan apologized. “I know Mr. Holloway told us never to lay a paddle across the canoe, but I was in such a hurry to get that water lily, I forgot.”
“We’ll lose the paddle, if we don’t fish it out of the river pretty fast. Wow! Look at it travel down stream!”
The paddle had cleared the lily pads and reeds and was floating free. Apparently, it was caught in a fast-moving current, for it traveled down river at an astonishing rate.
Brad dipped in his paddle, heading the canoe in pursuit. A few firm strokes brought him alongside.
However, as Dan reached out to scoop in the runaway, it again moved beyond his grasp.