[And then, through the bushes, came a boy.]
“We’ll put him in a box, and then we must start the boat,” said the man.
Toto did not know what a boat was, but a little later he found himself in a box, with a wire screen over the side which was open. Toto could look out, he could smell the air and the water, and he could see the water itself, but he could not get out. And then, by the way the wind blew and by the manner in which the sun sparkled on the little waves, Toto knew that he was moving along.
“But it’s queer I’m not swimming,” thought the beaver. “I am moving along on the water, and yet I am not wet. How is that, I wonder?”
The truth was that Toto had been brought on board a houseboat—that is, a boat made somewhat like a house. Donald, his father and his mother were traveling down the river on a houseboat, and when they “tied up” for a day Donald had gone on shore and set his trap. And he had caught Toto. Now Toto was on the boat and more adventures were going to happen.
CHAPTER XI
TOTO GETS HOME AGAIN
Shut tightly in the cage on the deck of the houseboat, Toto looked across the water. The boat was moving slowly along. It was near the bank of the river, and some of the trees were so close that the boat brushed the branches as it moved along.