and laugh all the morning, or are we going to get busy?"

For answer Harriet Burrell picked up a pail and began bailing out the
cockpit. Jane, dripping, took up another pail and together the girls
worked feverishly. There were several barrels of water in the cockpit,
so their backs were aching by the time they had finished bailing out the
water. The stern of the boat now floated clear, but the forward end was
hard and fast on the ground.

"The next thing is to get the boat off the gravel," announced Harriet.

"Maybe we can hitch the rowboat on and drag the 'Red Rover' off,"
suggested Jane.

Harriet shook her head.

"It won't work. We shall have to drag it off by main force. You can't be
any wetter, and I'm not afraid of a little water. Let's get outside the
boat and see what we can do."

A few seconds later as they took hold and directed their strength to the
task of moving the heavy boat, Harriet's feet slipped from under her.
She fell over into the water, coming up coughing, the water streaming
from her hair and shoulders, and falling into the lake in a shower. Jane
screamed with delight. "You're wet all right, now! No mistake about
that," jeered Crazy Jane. "And what have we done? Moved the old tub
three quarters of an inch. At this rate we'll have her afloat about
supper time. I wish I had my car hitched to it. I'd drag the old thing
out so fast it would make her dizzy."