"I dunno," replied Ethan, shaking his head.
"You have done nobly, Ethan; but Wahena has saved us so far."
"I know that; I ketched him for jest what he has did for us."
The rest of the way to the lake was down a gentle declivity, and the wheelbarrow moved more easily than before. In a short time they reached their destination, on the shore of the beautiful sheet of water at which was moored a boat. It was not such a craft as the Greyhound, in which Fanny had been accustomed to sail; it was a bateau, or flat-bottomed boat, with very sharp slopes under the bow and stern. It had a keel and rudder, and was provided with a sail.
The stores and utensils from the wheelbarrow were quickly transferred to the boat, and then the barrow itself was placed on board. The wind now blew tolerably fresh, and was fair for reaching the island; but Ethan, with all his other accomplishments, knew no more about the management of a boat than of a ship, which he had never even seen. This boat had been built by Mr. Grant and a carpenter of the settlement during the preceding winter, and Ethan had never sailed in it but once.
"I don't know nothin' about this hyer thing," said Ethan. "I kin paddle, but I reckon the sail would tip us over."
"I can manage it," replied Fanny, confidently.
"Kin ye? Did ye ever manage a boat with a sail?"
"Yes, once," answered Fanny, and she thought with shame of the cruise she had made in the Greyhound. "Let us hoist the sail, and we can run over to the island in a few moments."
Fanny, assisted by Ethan, hoisted the sail, and the bateau darted out of the little cove where she had been moored. Wahena, who had been as stoical in danger as his race, uttered an exclamation of alarm, perhaps called forth by the novelty of the situation and of the peril. Ethan was not entirely satisfied with the movements of the boat under sail, for she careened under the fresh breeze, till her gunwale was within an inch of the surface of the lake. Fanny took the helm, and, as she eased off the sheet, which her previous experience had taught her to do in such an emergency, the boat came up to an even keel, and the confidence of the prairie boy was fully restored.