The two little boys came closer to Letty.  “They’re my cousins,” explained Letty, drying her eyes.  “They came to visit us last week; and I took them for a row this morning and we wanted to get some flowers.  I thought I tied the boat, but when we looked up it was drifting off.  Oh, dear!”

“There, there,” said Captain Jenks comfortably.  “Nothing to cry about, Letty.  Lots of people find out too late they didn’t fasten the boat.  Hop ashore, youngsters, and I’ll introduce you to new friends.”

The four little Blossoms, though bursting with curiosity, had remained politely on deck.  Now at Captain Jenk’s invitation, they joined hands and jumped, landing like four plump little ducks.

“Letty,” declared the captain gravely, “here are four mighty good friends of mine, Meg and Bobby and Dot and Twaddles Blossom.  They don’t use any other names in the summer time.”

The four little Blossoms giggled at this and Letty Blake smiled a little.  She was a pretty girl, apparently about twelve years old, with dark blue eyes and a tanned skin that showed she was used to outdoor living.

“These are my cousins, Nelson and Albert Bennett,” she said, pulling the two boys forward.

“Hello!” beamed Twaddles, who seldom suffered from shyness.  “We came to rescue you.”

“Don’t want to be rescued,” said Nelson suddenly.  “Do we, Letty?”

“Of course we do,” retorted his cousin.  “How do you expect to get any lunch if we have to stay on this island?  And where would you sleep?  We’re going on board The Sarah this minute and Captain Jenks will take us home.”

Letty had stopped crying, and now she shouldered the oar, ready to carry it to The Sarah.

“How’s it come you have one oar?” asked Captain Jenks, plainly puzzled.  “Where’s the other?”

“In the boat,” said Letty.  “We brought this ashore because the boys wanted to play jungle travelers and carry things slung on a pole over their shoulders.  But the oar was too heavy for them to lift.”

Captain Jenks laughed as he marshaled the children on the boat.

“I suppose Uncle Silas will be put out over the boat being lost,” said Letty thoughtfully, pulling Nelson and Albert out of the captain’s way as he started the engine.  “He had just painted it and the oarlocks were new this year.  I wish I had made sure that knot was tied.”

“No use grieving over what’s done and past,” said Captain Jenks wisely.  “Meg, we’re going to lose Dot overboard again, if she isn’t removed from that railing.”

Sure enough, there was Dot half way over the railing, her small sandals hooked around a cleat in an endeavor to keep her balance.  Just as Meg opened her mouth to call her, she turned.

“Ship ahoy!” she cried, trying to imitate Captain Jenk’s most nautical term.

“Starboard or port?” asked the captain gravely, though his eyes twinkled.

The four little Blossoms had picked up several odds and ends of navigation in the few weeks they had known the captain, but Dot was too excited to remember what she had learned.