"What shall I do!" cried she, so troubled that I felt very bad myself. "The steamer cannot have gone without me."
"She went more than half an hour ago," I added. "I suppose they thought you were on board."
"O, dear! what shall I do!"
"She will come back after you when they find you have been left behind."
"Do you think they will?"
"To be sure they will."
"Why did she go so soon? They have always stopped three or four hours in a place."
"I suppose the boat had more business to do at other landings than here. She only stopped here for wood. She whistled and rang her bell half an hour before she started. Didn't you hear the whistle?"
"I did hear it, but not the bell, which I supposed was the signal to call the passengers. It was such a pretty place in the forest that I enjoyed it very much, and I did not think of such a thing as the steamer starting for several hours. The boat whistles so much that I am used to it, and don't heed it. What will become of me!"
