“Wh-wh-where ’ave we got to?” Bagg gasped, his teeth chattering with the fright that was not yet passed.
Silence again.
“Ahoy, there!” came a voice from near at hand in the foggy night. “What you boys doin’ out there?”
“We’re in Burnt Cove,” said Jimmie, in 142 amazement, to Bagg. “’Tis Uncle Zeke’s voice––an’, ay, look!––there’s the cottage light on the hill.”
“We’re comin’ ashore, Uncle Zeke,” Bagg shouted.
The boat had grounded in less than three feet of water. Jimmie had brought her through the tickle without knowing it. The boys emptied her and dragged her ashore just as the rain and wind came rushing from the open sea.
That’s why Jimmie used to say with a laugh:
“Sixty seconds sometimes makes more than a minute.”
“Bet yer life!” Bagg would add.