“Run outside and see that the boat is all right,” Mr. Parker instructed her. “We mustn’t let it float away.”
Obeying, Penny discovered that already the river was flowing in a shallow, muddy stream over the pier. The swift current tugged at the underpinning, threatening to carry it away. Wading through the water, she reached the boat and drew it close to the shack where she retied it.
By the time she finished, her father and Jerry had completed the raft.
“How will you ever get the stone on it?” Penny asked anxiously. “It must weigh several hundred pounds.”
“Just watch,” grinned Jerry.
During Penny’s absence, he and Mr. Parker had constructed a small square platform of rough boards, equipped with four tiny rollers. Getting the stone on it, they were able to trundle it outside to the raft with a minimum of exertion.
“Now dump her on easy,” Mr. Parker ordered Jerry. “If she sinks, our story sinks too.”
Together they rolled the heavy stone from the platform to the raft which immediately began to settle beneath the great weight.
“It’s going under!” Penny screamed.
As the three watched anxiously, the raft steadied and rode just beneath the surface of the water.