e to
hit."

"You'll excuse me saying so, Miss, but you'd no right to be trying to
get through Craggeen at this time of the tide. It couldn't be done."

"It could," said Priscilla, "and, what's more, it would, only for that
old rudder."

"Any way," said Jimmy; "you'll sail no more today, and it'll be lucky
if you sail tomorrow for you'll have to give that rudder to Patsy, the
smith, to put a new iron on it and that same Patsy isn't one that likes
doing anything in a hurry."

"I'm going on to Curraunbeg," said Priscilla, "I'll steer with an oar."

"Is it steer with an oar, Miss?"

"Haven't you often done it yourself, Jimmy?"

"Not that one," said Jimmy, pointing to the _Tortoise_.

"Sure my da's said to me many's the time how that one is pretty near as
giddy as yourself."

"Your da talks too much," said Priscilla. "Come on, Cousin Frank. What
about you, Miss Rutherford? Are you coming?"

"You'll not go," said Jimmy, "or if you do, you'll walk."

Priscilla looked out at the sea. The tide was falling rapidly. Through
the opening of the passage which led into Finilaun roadstead there was
no more than a trickle of water running like a brook over the stony
bottom.

"It'll be as much as you'll do this minute," said Jimmy, "to get back
the way you came, and you'll only do that same by taking the sails off
of her and poling her along with an oar."

Priscilla surrendered. It is, after all, impossible to sail a boat
without water. The _Tortoise_ lay afloat in a pool, but the Finilaun end
of the passage was hardly better than a lane-way of wet stones. At the
other end there was still high water, but very little of it Priscilla
acted promptly in the emergency. She had no desire to lie imprisoned for
hours on Craggeen, she had lain the day before on the bank off Inishark.
She took the sails off the _Tortoise_ and, standing on the thwart
amidships, began poling the boat back into the open water at the
south-eastern end of the passage. Jimmy, also poling, followed in his
boat.

Miss Rutherford, the broken rudder still on her knees, and Frank, were
left on shore.

"Do you think," she said, "that Priscilla intends to maroon us here?
She's gone without us."

"I'm awfully sorry," said Franks "It's not my fault. I couldn't stop
her."

"She's got all the food there is, even the peppermint creams. I wish I'd
thought of snatching that parcel from the boat before she started. She'd
have come back when she found out they w