We may find a chance to mend the boat, and anyway it's just as well that
we try and keep her here; though if the wind whips around no cable would
hold her, I reckon."

Giraffe was the first to drop over. The water hardly came above his
waist; but then his height was responsible for this, and cautious Bumpus
did not deceive himself on that account. Still he found that he could
easily wade, and in a short time all of them had reached the friendly
rocks.

Here Thad made the rope secure.

"I'm going back for a few more things, and you might come along with me,
Allan," the scout-master remarked.

"I reckon you think there's a pretty good possibility that the wind will
veer around, sooner or later, and that the old tub won't be in sight
when morning comes?" Allan remarked, as he pushed out alongside his
chum.

"Chances tend that way," was the replied Thad, "and anyhow, it's better
that we get all the supplies we have ashore. Then if 'we have to play
Crusoe for a while we'll have something to go on with."

"Our stock happens to be pretty low," remarked Allan; "and Giraffe was
only this morning complaining that he didn't get enough to eat, and that
we'd better stop off somewhere to buy more bacon and bread and such
things. Too bad we didn't think of that when near Duluth, which place
you wanted to avoid because of certain reasons."