my had been swept from her feet by the foliage. Not only that, but in
floundering about she had rolled over the side of the boat. A mighty
splash and a second cry gave additional evidence that Tommy was in
further difficulties.

"Help me! I'm in the water!" she screamed, coming up sputtering and
coughing.

"Stay there and push," answered Harriet, laughing so that she bumped the
nose of the houseboat into the bank on the right side of the creek. "You
can't get any wetter. The water is shallow. Come. Don't hold up the
ship."

Tommy had no intention of pushing. Her sole ambition at this moment was
to get aboard.

"You may do your own piloting after thith," she declared, sitting down
on the stern of the boat with a suggestion of a sob in her voice.

"There, there, Tommy. You must learn to take the bitter with the sweet.
We must do that all through life," comforted Harriet wisely. "You aren't
hurt."

"No, but I'm wet. My feelingth are hurt, too."

"Don't think about it any more," advised Harriet. "Go into the cabin and
change your wet clothes. Then you'll feel better."

"Will you steer, Miss Elting?" Harriet asked the guardian. "We are
slowing down too much. If we stop it will be difficult to get another
start."

The boat moved faster when Harriet took hold of the pushing pole. Jane
had ceased rowing because she was at the end of her tow line and had
proceeded as far into the cave-like opening in the rocks as she could
go. She pulled the rowboat to one side and called to the helmswoman of
the "Red Rover" not to run her down.

"Snub her nose against the side. We don't want to bump into the rocks,"
ordered Captain Harriet.

"Thnub whothe nothe?" questioned Tommy apprehensively.

"The boat's, of course, you goose," answered Harriet laughingly. "That's
it. Will it go in clear, Jane?"

"Yes, all right."

"Good. I was certain it would."

"How are we going to keep the boat in here? It will drift out with the
current, will it not?" asked the guardian.

"We will put out the anchor at the other end, giving it a short rope.
That will hold us. The current is not swift."

While she was holding the "Red Rover" in place, Jane and Miss Elting
dragged the anchor to the inner end of the opening, put it over and made
it fast with a shortened rope.

"There. Now let's sit down and rest our backs," exclaimed Harriet. Her
face was red and perspiring. "I'm tired."

"Harriet, you must be tired. You have wonderful endurance,