“We hoped somebody would come for us,” said Miss Shay. “Have you a boat so you can take us to shore?”
“A boat? No!” cried Blake. “Our motor boat was hit by a raft and sunk, and then the raft hit this island and went to pieces. We’re stranded. Haven’t you folks a boat?”
“Not a boat,” said Mr. Robertson, with a shake of his head. “We’re marooned on the island.”
“Come on! I’m sure they must be starved!” laughed Birdie Lee. “Feed them first, and talk afterward. At least we have plenty of food.”
And, when the moving picture boys and their companions had made a hasty meal, explanations were made.
“We were caught in the flood, when we went to that first island,” said Mr. Levinberg, “and carried down the river in our boat.”
“And we thought surely we would be drowned,” put in Miss Shay.
“But we weren’t,” resumed the chief actor. “Fortunately our boat was a large one, and we had plenty of food and supplies. We went out equipped for a long stay, you know, with tents that were to be used in some of the island scenes, and many other things. We had time to put most of these aboard the boat, before the flood came.
“Then we tried to get back to Hannibal, but the current was too much for us. So we decided to come on down, and trust to luck. But luck was against us, for our rudder broke, and we could not ship a new one. So we were carried on down, utterly unable to guide our boat.
“We tried to signal for help, but we were carried too far out to allow our signals or cries to be heard by persons in the towns we passed. Anyhow, I guess they had their own troubles. We met no other steamers, and all we could do was to come on with the flood.