"She's broke down, and we're wrecked already!" yelled Giraffe,
excitedly.

"Oh! mercy! and she may explode at any second now!" cried poor Bumpus;
after which, in sheer desperation he jumped deliberately overboard,
clinging to the side of the swaying craft, and in momentary expectation
of hearing a fearful crash, as the gasoline tank went up.




CHAPTER V

THE RESCUE


"Tell us what to do, Thad, and count on us to follow you!" called out
Giraffe, rising manfully to the occasion; though to tell the honest
truth he looked pretty "white around the gills," as Step Hen remarked
later on, when they all found time to compare experiences.

"Just stick to your seats, and don't bother!" was the quick reply Thad
sent back.

"Then there ain't any danger?" demanded Davy, drawing the only decent
breath he had dared indulge in since that first alarm.

"Not a bit!" called Allan, cheerily.