till their throats were sore, and waved till their arms ached,
no friendly face appeared, and faster and faster drifted the little boat
away from home and friends.

"I wonder what time it is," said Winifred, when they had at last left
off shouting, in order to gain a little breath. "It seems as if we had
been out on the river for hours and hours."

"We can't have been as long as that," said Betty, "because the sun is
just as bright as it was when we started. I guess the time seems longer
than it really is."

"I wonder where our mothers are now," remarked Lulu mournfully. "Mine
must be on the boat coming home from the city."

"And mine is driving with Mrs. Martin," said Winifred. "Oh, what will
they all do when they get home and we're not there." The picture called
up by this remark was too dreadful to be borne with fortitude, and all
four children simultaneously burst into tears.

Suddenly Jack's voice broke in upon the wails of the three little girls.

"Look, oh, look! there's a steamboat; it's coming this way."

Every eye was turned in the direction Jack pointed. Sure enough, a large
steam yacht was coming rapidly down the river, her head pointed straight
towards them.

"Wave, keep waving as hard as you can," cried Betty excitedly. "Let's
all shout together again, and perhaps they'll hear us."

"Wait till they get a little nearer, they couldn't hear us yet,"
advised Jack. "Oh, do you really think they'll save us?"

"Of course they will," said Lulu confidently. "Oh, look, look, they see
us already; there's a man waving back to us. Maybe they think we're only
doing it for fun. How shall we let them know we want them to help us?"

"We must shout," said Betty, and she set the example by raising her
voice to its highest pitch.

"Please, please help us! Our boat's drifting, and we haven't got any
oars. Oh, please, do come and help us!"

"They understand us!" cried Lulu joyfully. "See, the man's nodding his
head. Why, they're stopping! Oh, don't you believe they're going to help
us after all?"

For the next few moments the children waited in breathless suspense,
almost too excited to speak. Then Jack announced:

"They're getting into a rowboat. See those two men? That's the one that
nodded to us; I guess he's the captain. Let's shout again."

So again the four little voices were raised in agonized appeal, and this
time there came an answering shout from the other boat.

"Don't be frightened, children, you