Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/274

 "What tumbled him out so suddenly?" exclaimed Joe.

"Look out, boys! There's a snag right under us," said Roy.

"Where in the world is the boat?" inquired Arthur.

"There she is," answered Joe, pointing to a swirl in the water which marked the spot where the canvas canoe was quietly settling down on the bottom of the creek.

"Sunk!" cried Roy. "So she is. She must have a cargo of some sort aboard, or she would not have gone down like that. Now, what's to be done?"

"We can't do any thing to-night," replied Joe. "I propose that we anchor here and wait until morning comes to show us how she lies. If the water isn't over thirty feet deep we can raise her."

The others agreeing to this proposition, the ground tackle was got overboard, and Roy, who handled the rope, encouraged Joe by assuring him that the water was not an inch over twelve feet deep.

"If that is the case," said the latter,