“If I had thome dry clotheth on I gueth I’d be all right,” observed a lisping voice from the darkness.  “My kimono is thoaking wet.”

“Now, Jane, I’m ready,” finally announced Harriet.  “Let’s get that stove out first of all.  I fear it is ruined.”

“Set the girls at it with dry leaves.  They can wipe it dry and the exercise will do them good,” suggested Jane McCarthy.

“Fine!  Come!”

The stove was carried out to the beach and stood up.  Jane and Harriet gathered leaves from weeds and bushes, together with such dry grass as they were able to find in the darkness, heaping their plunder on the canvas and directing the girls to polish the stove, hoping thereby to keep it from rusting very badly.  The occupation did Tommy, Hazel and Margery good.  They almost forgot their troubles for the time being.

The bedding and the clothing were next carried out and spread on the ground to dry.  This, too, gave the girls on shore something to do.  They wrung the water out of the bedding and clothing as thoroughly as possible.  The clothing was then hung on nearby bushes.

“I do not believe your clothing will be dry enough to wear until after the sun shines on it,” decided Miss Elting.

The girls groaned dismally.  They did not relish the idea of going about in kimonos for the better part of the next forenoon.  Harriet and Jane paid little attention to their own discomfort, however, for there were still many things to be done.  The cabin had held quite a stock of supplies.  Cans of provisions lay all about the floor.  The two girls were unable to gather up their supplies in the darkness.  The water would not damage the canned goods, so they decided to let these remain where they were for the time being.

“I’ll tell you what!” said Harriet, after pondering over the best course to follow.  “Let’s take pails and go to bailing.  Of course some water will still leak in around the bottom cot, but we can bail out down to that point.  The water must come out.  We might as well bail now as after daylight.  We won’t get any wetter, and we don’t mind lame backs, do we?”

“We don’t, if you say not,” agreed Jane.  “What the captain of the ’Red Rover’ orders, is to be done.  Where are the pails?”

“I think I remember having carried one outside.”

“Here’s the other,” called Crazy Jane, who, at that moment, fell over the missing pail and went sprawling in the water.  She rose to her feet, dripping, but in great good humor.

The two plucky girls set to work bailing.  They did not wish to call in their companions to help them, as they believed they could accomplish more by themselves.  Bailing out the boat was back-breaking work, and there was so much water in the hold of the “Red Rover,” that at first their bailing seemed to have no effect whatever.  Now and then they would go ashore and throw themselves down for a brief rest.  Miss Elting begged them to do no more, but both Jane and Harriet were deaf to her entreaties.  They alternately bailed and rested until early in the morning, when utterly exhausted from the strain of the past few hours’ work they were glad to throw themselves down on the canvas beside their friends for a little rest.