"You're right," said Henry. "We'll set the sail again and tack as fast
as we can to the south."

The sail was set, and the boat, heeling over under a good breeze, moved
rapidly. Paul and Henry watched with pleasure the white water foaming
away on either side of the prow, and Long Jim also watched the trailing
wake at the stern. Used to rivers but not to lakes, they did not really
appreciate what dangers might await them on the bosom of Erie. Meanwhile
the lake presented to them a most smiling surface. The waters rippling
before the wind lay blue under a blue sky. The wind with its touch of
damp was fresh and inspiring. Behind them the shore, with its great wall
of green, sank lower and lower, until at last it passed out of sight.
Long Jim, who sat in the stern watching, then spoke.

"Boys," he said, "fur the fust time in the life uv any uv us thar ain't
no land. Look to the east an' look to the west, look to the north an'
look to the south an' thar ain't nothin' but water. The world uv land
hez left us."

There was a certain awe in Jim's tone that impressed them as they looked
and saw that he spoke the truth. Their world was now one of water, and
they felt how small was the boat that lay between them and the
tremendous power of the lake.

It was now somewhat past midday and the sun was uncommonly bright. The
wind began to die, and the little waves no longer chased one another
over the surface of the lake. No air gathered in the sail and presently
the boat stopped.

"Now wouldn't this make you mad?" exclaimed Shif'less Sol. "We can't
move at all unless we git out the oars an' row, an' a lazy man like me
ain't fond o' rowin' seventy or eighty miles across a big lake."

Nor was the prospect pleasant to any of them. A little while ago they
were moving swiftly at ease; now they rocked slightly in the swell, but
did not go forward an inch. Hopeful that the wind would soon rise again
they did not yet take to the oars. Meanwhile it was growing warmer. The
reflection of the sun upon the water was dazzling, and they spread the
sail again, not to catch the wind but as an awning to protect them from
the burning rays.

They also used the interval for food and drink, and as the wind still
did not rise they were thinking of taking to the oars as a last resort
when Henry called their attention to the southwest.

"See that black spot down there," he said. "It seems to be only a few
inches either way, but it doesn't look natura