Davy, and Step Hen too, seemed ready to throw up their hats, and cheer
with exultation because of their wonderful deliverance from continued
perils.

All of them were pretty well soaked, though it had not rained at all; so
that their bedraggled condition must have come from the water that was
in the air, and an occasional wave that slapped over the boat when it
broke.

Although they had apparently secured a firm grip on an anchorage, and it
would seem as though their present troubles were over, Thad did not sink
down like his two fellow laborers, to pant, and rest up.

He proceeded to scramble aft, for he had made an alarming discovery, and
wished to start an investigation at once.

The boat sat much lower in the water than he had ever known it to do;
and this circumstance seemed alarming. One look into the cabin told him
the reason, nor was Thad very much surprised to find that it was already
knee deep in water.

"How did this come in here, fellows?" he asked Davy and Step Hen, who
from their positions might be expected to know; "did you notice many
waves pour over the stern of the boat?"

"N-no, hardly any water at all came in, Thad," replied Step Hen,
astonished when he came to look into the partly submerged cabin for
himself.