it Randy was
now paddling straight for a bushy point of land that jutted out from the
left shore exactly where the channel made its abrupt bend. Just below
this little promontory, and in midstream, was anchored a long, squarely
built flatboat.

It had three occupants. On a low stool in the very center sat a
tremendously stout man in a blue flannel shirt and wide brimmed straw
hat. Beside him was a lean, scrawny man sitting on an upturned bucket.
The other end of the boat was occupied by a yellow dog, whose eyes were
fixed with intent longing on a lunch basket a few feet distant.

The big fat man held in one hand a light, slender fishing rod, while the
little lean man supported on his knees a twenty foot pole that looked
like a young tree denuded of its branches. Both were waiting patiently
for a bite--as was also the dog--and under the circumstances it did not
occur to them to look around.

Meanwhile the Water Sprite swept onward to the jutting point of land,
and missed it by little more than a hair's breadth, just as Randy turned
pale with the sudden discovery of his danger. He breathed easier as the
canoe passed swiftly on toward mid-channel. He could see nothing ahead,
and was therefore blissfully ignorant of the obstruction that now lay in
his path.

Just at this moment the three boys, coming on behind, caught a glimpse
of the anchored boat and were quick to grasp the situation.

"Look out, Randy!" cried Ned at the top of his voice. "Danger ahead!
Paddle to the right, quick!"

Randy turned around and looked stupidly at his companions for an
instant. Then he seized the paddle and tried hard to follow Ned's
advice. Too late! The Water Sprite was forging ahead now under full
pressure, and was not to be diverted from its course.

The two occupants of the boat had heard Ned's warning cry without
catching the words, but they did not turn around because each happened
to have a bite at that moment.

Then the little man jerked out a plump catfish, and as he reached for
the line, which had swung behind him, he saw the flaming red sail
looming almost overhead. He had barely time to spring to his feet and
utter a terrific yell, when the collision came.

The shock tossed the fat man off the stool and threw him across the edge
of the boat. As the little man was knocked down at the same instant, the
one sided pressure naturally caused the boat to tip, and over it went,
throwing fishermen, dog, and all into the water.