w, and you must get me a fishing-line, and we will come and fish
all day."

We didn't stay to hear what her father said, but posted off to our boat,
for we were all beginning to feel pretty hungry. We took Rectus's fish
along, to give to our landlady. The gentleman and the girl came close
after us, as if they were afraid to be left alone on the island. Their
boat was hauled up near ours, and we set off at pretty much the same
time.

We went ahead a little, and Menendez turned around and called out to the
gentleman that he'd better follow us, for there were some bad shoals in
this part of the harbor, and the tide was pretty low.

"All right, my hearty!" called out the gentleman. "This isn't the first
time I've sailed in this harbor. I guess I know where the shoals are,"
and just at that minute he ran his boat hard and fast on one of them.

He jumped up, and took an oar and pushed and pushed: but it was of no
good--he was stuck fast. By this time we had left him pretty far behind;
but we all had been watching, and Rectus asked if we couldn't go back
and help him.

"Well, I s'pose so," said Menendez; "but it's a shame to keep three
decent people out of their dinner for the sake of a man like that, who
hasn't got sense enough to take good advice when it's give to him."

"We'd better go," said I, and Menendez, in no good humor, put his boat
about. We found the other boat aground, in the very worst way. The old
Minorcan said that he could see that sand-bar through the water, and
that they might as well have run up on dry land. Better, for that
matter, because then we could have pushed her off.

"There aint nuthin' to be done," he said, after we had worked at the
thing for a while, "but to jist wait here till the tide turns. It's
pretty near dead low now, an' you'll float off in an hour or two."

This was cold comfort for the gentleman, especially as it was beginning
to rain; but he didn't seem a bit cast down. He laughed, and said:

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped: but I am used to being out in all
weathers. I can wait, just as well as not. But I don't want my daughter
here to get wet, and she has no umbrella. Would you mind taking her on
your boat? When you get to the town, she can run up to our hotel by
herself. She knows the way."

Of course we had no objection to this, and the girl was helped aboard.
Then we sailed off, and the gentleman waved his hat to us. If I had been
in his place, I don't think I shoul