"How long do you suppose we may have to hang out here?" asked Will.

"Oh, a day or so, I suppose," replied Jerry, keeping a straight face.

"A day or so! Listen to him say that without a show of feeling! Why,
long before that time elapsed I'd grow so weak from fatigue that I'd
have to be strapped to my limb to keep from falling into the treacherous
water," stammered Will.

"And what of me?" burst out Bluff. "I'd waste away to a mere shadow from
hunger. Sooner than submit to that, I'd try swimming ashore."

"Do you think the water will get any higher? Could it possibly overwhelm
us in this tree? We could climb up twenty feet if necessary."

"Well, I hardly think that emergency is going to arise, Will; not at
this time, at least. To tell the truth, the water is already receding,"
announced Frank, taking pity on Jerry's victims, both of whom looked
worried.

"Oh! do you really think so?" cried Will. "Then Jerry is only up to some
of his old foolishness. Yes, I can see that it does not quite come up to
the wet mark on the trunk of the tree. Then perhaps we won't have to
stay up here all night."

"Well, I guess not. I expect that in less than twenty minutes we'll be
once more afoot, and on our way to camp. This must have been a genuine
cloudburst, and they tell me those sort of things, while severe at the
time, are quickly over."