He came up to the porch in his johnboat. “It’s the cabin boat that’s stuck, not the houseboat.”
The mishap meant a long delay, but Daddy knew just what to do. He took the outboard johnboat and pulled the houseboat down to a towhead, leaving Patsy and the little ones alone on board. Then he brought Mama and Milly back to help him get the cabin boat off the sand.
“You’ll have to wade out and push,” Daddy said.
“Wade and push?” gasped Mama.
Much as she loved the river, Mama’s love was purely an external one. She could not swim and she never ventured into the river if she could help it. To her, wading in the river was a terrible thing. Now, faced with the necessity of putting her feet in it, she was so scared she began to shake all over. But Milly had taken off her shoes and plunged in, so Mama had to do the same. First Daddy tried pushing with the oars, using main strength. But the sand was “crawly” and worked right out from under the paddle.
“Law me, I can see all the fish in the river!” Mama spoke in a low voice so Milly would not hear.
“Mama and I will push,” Milly told Daddy. “When you start the motor to back it up, we’ll both push.”
Mama waded over. “But Daddy will run over us!” she cried.
“Don’t be silly, Mama,” said Milly. “He’s going to back, I said.”
The motor roared as Mama pushed and Milly pushed. But the boat, a heavy one twenty-seven feet long and ten feet wide, did not budge. After repeated trials it was still in the same place.
At the stern of the boat were two heavy barrels of gasoline. Daddy decided to move these to the bow. He also filled an empty fish tub with water. With this additional weight on the bow, he hoped to raise the stern and get the rudder off the sand. After this they tried again. He started the motor and with more pushing, the cabin boat finally slid back off the sand bar into deeper water.
“You wait here now, Mama,” said Milly, “till I bring the johnboat.”
Mama stood in the middle of the river with water all around her, petrified with fear. While she was waiting for the johnboat to come, she happened to look down. To her great surprise, she saw that the water was not even ankle deep! And when she returned to the houseboat, the bottom of her dress was not even wet.
Safely back in her cozy kitchen again, Mama laughed and laughed. “I thought I was drowned for sure,” she said. “I could just feel all those fishes nibbling at my toes!”
Up spoke Dan. “I bet you wished Stub Henderson would come and pull you out the way he did Patsy!”
“Stub? Patsy?” cried Mama, surprised. “When did Stub pull Pasty out? Did Patsy fall in and nobody tell me?”
Milly and Patsy glared at Dan. Patsy grabbed his arm and started to shake him. But the secret was out.
“Oh, gosh!” said Dan. “I wasn’t supposed to tell. I forgot!”
“Oh well,” said Patsy. “She’s got to know some time.”
So the whole story came out—Patsy’s tumble in the creek, which led to her swimming lesson from old cranky Stub.
“Why didn’t Stub tell me?” asked Mama.
“I made him promise not to,” said Patsy.
“Well, since it’s all over,” said Mama, “I’m glad you can swim and won’t have to be pulled out again.”
Patsy put her arm around her mother’s waist, looked up at her and said, “Want me to teach you how to swim, Mama?”
“NO!” cried Mama. “There are too many fish in the river!”
The children laughed.
The Fosters did not start on until the next day, and then they did not get far. The wind kept blowing the boat up river and was so strong that Daddy decided to lay over. He tied up in the chute nearby out of the wind because the boat was too hard to handle. That afternoon there was a storm. It rained hard and kept them all indoors.
After the storm, Milly and Patsy went exploring in the johnboat. They had not gone far before they saw a lamplighter’s boat tied near a bank that had caved in. The tripod of
The mishap meant a long delay, but Daddy knew just what to do. He took the outboard johnboat and pulled the houseboat down to a towhead, leaving Patsy and the little ones alone on board. Then he brought Mama and Milly back to help him get the cabin boat off the sand.
“You’ll have to wade out and push,” Daddy said.
“Wade and push?” gasped Mama.
Much as she loved the river, Mama’s love was purely an external one. She could not swim and she never ventured into the river if she could help it. To her, wading in the river was a terrible thing. Now, faced with the necessity of putting her feet in it, she was so scared she began to shake all over. But Milly had taken off her shoes and plunged in, so Mama had to do the same. First Daddy tried pushing with the oars, using main strength. But the sand was “crawly” and worked right out from under the paddle.
“Law me, I can see all the fish in the river!” Mama spoke in a low voice so Milly would not hear.
“Mama and I will push,” Milly told Daddy. “When you start the motor to back it up, we’ll both push.”
Mama waded over. “But Daddy will run over us!” she cried.
“Don’t be silly, Mama,” said Milly. “He’s going to back, I said.”
The motor roared as Mama pushed and Milly pushed. But the boat, a heavy one twenty-seven feet long and ten feet wide, did not budge. After repeated trials it was still in the same place.
At the stern of the boat were two heavy barrels of gasoline. Daddy decided to move these to the bow. He also filled an empty fish tub with water. With this additional weight on the bow, he hoped to raise the stern and get the rudder off the sand. After this they tried again. He started the motor and with more pushing, the cabin boat finally slid back off the sand bar into deeper water.
“You wait here now, Mama,” said Milly, “till I bring the johnboat.”
Mama stood in the middle of the river with water all around her, petrified with fear. While she was waiting for the johnboat to come, she happened to look down. To her great surprise, she saw that the water was not even ankle deep! And when she returned to the houseboat, the bottom of her dress was not even wet.
Safely back in her cozy kitchen again, Mama laughed and laughed. “I thought I was drowned for sure,” she said. “I could just feel all those fishes nibbling at my toes!”
Up spoke Dan. “I bet you wished Stub Henderson would come and pull you out the way he did Patsy!”
“Stub? Patsy?” cried Mama, surprised. “When did Stub pull Pasty out? Did Patsy fall in and nobody tell me?”
Milly and Patsy glared at Dan. Patsy grabbed his arm and started to shake him. But the secret was out.
“Oh, gosh!” said Dan. “I wasn’t supposed to tell. I forgot!”
“Oh well,” said Patsy. “She’s got to know some time.”
So the whole story came out—Patsy’s tumble in the creek, which led to her swimming lesson from old cranky Stub.
“Why didn’t Stub tell me?” asked Mama.
“I made him promise not to,” said Patsy.
“Well, since it’s all over,” said Mama, “I’m glad you can swim and won’t have to be pulled out again.”
Patsy put her arm around her mother’s waist, looked up at her and said, “Want me to teach you how to swim, Mama?”
“NO!” cried Mama. “There are too many fish in the river!”
The children laughed.
The Fosters did not start on until the next day, and then they did not get far. The wind kept blowing the boat up river and was so strong that Daddy decided to lay over. He tied up in the chute nearby out of the wind because the boat was too hard to handle. That afternoon there was a storm. It rained hard and kept them all indoors.
After the storm, Milly and Patsy went exploring in the johnboat. They had not gone far before they saw a lamplighter’s boat tied near a bank that had caved in. The tripod of
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