he announced that he was ready, and the boys on shore commenced
to haul in. Down in the madly rushing water went Giant, and it
was all he could do to keep his feet. But luck was with him, and
in a very few minutes he and the dog were safe.

"That was quite an adventure," he said when he had recovered his
breath.

"You went overboard in a great hurry," remarked Whopper. "And
so did Wags."

"The shock to the boat did it. It made me lose my balance before
I was aware."

"Let us be thankful Giant is safe, and Wags," said the doctor's son.
"And thankful, too, that the boat didn't go over. If it had our
outing would have been spoiled."

"We've got to be mighty careful how we travel through the rest of
this river," remarked Snap. "The heavy rains have made a fierce
torrent of it."

It must be confessed that the boys did not know exactly what to do.
Should they venture on the river again, or carry the outfit to the
beginning of Firefly Lake?

"I've got an idea," said Shep at last. "You can follow it or
not, as you think best. My idea is to have two of the crowd take
the boat down and the two others walk to Firefly Lake, carrying
the most precious of the outfit."