Paul had stopped the motor, since it seemed useless. But of course he did
not mean to give up trying to get the boat off.

"One thing's sure," he said, positively, when the others gathered around
him, as if in this emergency they looked to the scout master to invent
some method of beating the sticky mud at its own game; "every minute we
stay here makes it all the worse for us."

"Yes, because our weight is sure to make the boat sink deeper in her
nest!" declared Little Billie, leaning far over the side, as if to see
how far down in her muddy bed the boat lay.

"Yes, that's one thing," added Paul; "but another is the fact that the
creek is falling all the time. Unless it rains, there'll soon be nothing
but mud around us. Now, every fellow crowd back here, and leave the bow
as free as we can. That might loosen the grip of the mud; and when I
turn on the motor at full speed again, let's hope she'll move."

It was a sensible suggestion; and indeed, about the only thing possible,
since the other boat, being in the same fix, could not come near, either
to give a friendly tug, or take off the _Comfort's_ crew.

When he had them all as far in the stern as they could get, with a
warning not to allow themselves to be shaken loose, unless they wanted a
mud bath, the skipper started his motor working.

When it was going at full speed the boat quivered and strained, but did
not move, so far as any one could see; and they were all eager to detect
the first sign of motion.