sadly, "I've got the best sort of a
life preserver at home you ever saw; but what good is it to me now?"

"But you can swim, all right," remarked Max.

"Oh! I wasn't thinking about myself that time, but what a fine thing
it'd be to strap it around one of the girls right now. I say, Max,
whatever are we agoin' to do with the three, if the old coop does take
a notion to cut loose?"

"Not so loud, Bandy-legs," warned Max, with a little hiss, and a
crooked finger. "We don't want them to know how tough things really
are. If the worst does come we'll have to do what we can to keep them
afloat; but I'm still hoping we may get some doors out that would be
better than nothing, to hold on to in the water."

"I heard Bessie tell you that there was a clothesline hanging to a hook
inside there, before the water came, and that it might be there yet if
not washed away," Bandy-legs went on to remark.

"Yes, it wasn't very encouraging," Max informed him; "but I'm going
inside and see if I can find it."

"You'll want help with the doors, too, of course, Max?"

"And I know where to look for it when you're around, Bandy-legs,
because you're one of the most accommodating fellows on earth," the
other told him.

"I'm about as wet as can be, so it doesn't matter a whiff what happens
to me from now on," remarked the other boy; "but if we have to do more
or less swimmin' while we're in there, Max, hadn't we better take our
shoes off? I never could do good work with the same on."

"That's what I'm meaning to do, Bandy-legs; and there's no need of our
waiting around any longer, so here goes."

Saying which Max proceeded to remove his wet shoes and socks, rolling
his trouser legs up half way to his knees.

"What's all this mean?" asked Steve, crawling over to where the other
two had gone; "looks like you had a scheme in mind."

He was quickly told what Max purposed doing.

"It doesn't seem like it'd amount to a great deal," he suggested.

"Huh! can you knock your coco and think up anything better, then; we'd
sure be delighted to hear it," Bandy-legs told him; but Steve was not
very fertile when it came to planning things, and he shook his head
sadly.

"Wish I could, that's right," he said; "I'd give a heap right now to be
able to snap my fingers, and have a nice little, power-boat happen
along, so I could invite everybody to take a cruise with me. But
there's no such good luck, And, Max, when you duck inside here, count
on