simply would not keep on any one course for more than thirty seconds at
a time. Jane was shouting her directions, making sarcastic remarks about
Harriet's steering, but the latter merely smiled. She knew she was doing
the best she could, and that was all any one could do. Jane was making
but slow headway. They had not yet rounded the point that hid the
Johnson dock from view. Her strokes became uneven, and jerky. All at
once the rope broke. Crazy Jane McCarthy landed in the bottom of the
rowboat.

"Save me," she screamed.

Harriet, who could not see the small boat, the deck house being in the
way, continued on her course, smiling good-naturedly at Jane's noisy
objections. But all at once a crash and a yell startled Harriet. She
threw the tiller over and leaned far out. The rowboat was
bottom-side-up, with Crazy Jane McCarthy struggling in the water. Her
mouth was too full of water, just at that moment, to allow her to raise
an outcry. The momentum of the houseboat carried it alongside the
overturned rowboat, Harriet leaned over and grasped one of her
companion's arms.

"Why, Jane! You shouldn't have stopped rowing to go in for a swim."

"Go in for a swim!" exploded Jane. "And didn't you run me down. Look at
the boat, will you! Now, what are we going to do, will you tell me?"

"The first thing is to get you on board. After that I don't know."

Crazy Jane was dragged aboard the "Red Rover." She lay clinging to the
gunwale, laughing immoderately.