Page:Boys of Columbia High on the River.djvu/26

16 again, as well as for that lost oar; just stick a pin in that, will you?" said Frank, firmly.

"Going to leave the boat here?" asked the other, moodily.

"Yes, after we pull her up a little further. There might be a rain before I find time to come up for her, and the river rising would carry the boat off. We'll be too busy with our racing shells from this time out to bother about getting a wreck like this. There, that ought to do, Lanky, thank you."

"Now what?" demanded the other.

"The road must lie close above here. Let's push through these bushes and get our bearings in the open," and Frank, as he spoke, commenced to lead the way, holding the rescued oar in his hands, which he found valuable in opening a path through the dense thicket.

Presently they arrived on the road. This, for the most part, followed the course of the river for miles. Clifford was only about three and a half miles above Columbia, but on the opposite side of the river. A bridge connected both banks, so that it was easy to drive from one town to the other.

"I think I'd better hide this oar in the bushes here, as I don't want to lug it all the way home. When I come up after the boat I can find it again."

"A good idea, Frank. It's a mile and a half to town from here, and two waterlogged craft like we