If Chub was first asleep, he was likewise the first of the three to awake. He sat bolt upright, staring through the gray door of the tent. The sky had clouded over, and the moonlight no longer made the night radiant. Chub wondered what had awakened him, and even as he wondered the answer came to him in a shrill, frightened cry from the house-boat:
“Papa! Chub! Help!”
It was Harry’s voice, and Chub was out of the tent in an instant, with a whoop of reassurance. The world was gray-black, and objects were only dimly discernible. But he knew the way to the boat well enough, and went hurrying, stumbling over the grass and through the little bushes. As he went, a light sprang into view somewhere aboard, Snip barked loudly, and at the same moment he collided with a figure on the bank.
“Who’s that?” called Chub. “What’s the matter?”
[The figure disappeared noiselessly into the night]
There was no response, and [the figure disappeared noiselessly into the night]. Then a white-clad figure appeared at the edge of the boat, and the doctor’s voice said:
“Dick! Chub! Are you there?”