We can't float much longer!"
"Well, we can swim," coolly replied Betty, as she began feeling about for
the hole in the bottom of the boat. Meanwhile she looked closely at the
surface of the water in the craft, which had now risen until it was close
to the under side of the seats. The girls were quite wet. The boat was
harder than ever to row.
"That plug ought to be floating somewhere hereabouts," she murmured.
"It's probably caught in a crack, or under one of the seats," said
Mollie. "Hurry up, Betty. The hole is right near where you were feeling
that time."
"Yes, you can see the water bubbling up," added Amy. "Oh, do hurry, or
we'll sink!"
"Well, then we can swim," said Betty, coolly. "It's a good thing we all
know how."
"But--in our clothes!" protested Amy.
"Oh, I guess we can do it if we try," went on Betty. "There, I have the
handkerchiefs in the hole!" she exclaimed, as she forced the wadded-up
linens into the aperture. "Now let's row harder!"
"Oh, but I'm soaked!" sighed Grace. Indeed, they were all in no very
comfortable plight.
They succeeded in heading the boat for shore, but they had only rowed a
short distance when Grace cried:
"The water is still coming in!"
There was no doubt about it.
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