To the surprise of the children, Letty Blake flung her oar to one
side and sat down in the sand and cried.

Captain Jenks hastily tied his boat to the wooden post and jumped
ashore.

"You're all right now, child," he told the girl, patting her
kindly on the shoulder. "Look at all the crew who offered to come
help me rescue you. And who are these small tykes?"

The two little boys came closer to Letty. "They're my cousins,"
explained Letty, drying her eyes. "They came to visit us last
week; and I took them for a row this morning and we wanted to get
some flowers. I thought I tied the boat, but when we looked up it
was drifting off. Oh, dear!"

"There, there," said Captain Jenks comfortably. "Nothing to cry
about, Letty. Lots of people find out too late they didn't fasten
the boat. Hop ashore, youngsters, and I'll introduce you to new
friends."

The four little Blossoms, though bursting with curiosity, had
remained politely on deck. Now at Captain Jenk's invitation, they
joined hands and jumped, landing like four plump little ducks.

"Letty," declared the captain gravely, "here are four mighty good
friends of mine, Meg and Bobby and Dot and Twaddles Blossom. They
don't use any other names in the summer time."

The four little Blossoms giggled at this and Letty Blake smiled a