Page:Dapples of the Circus (1943).pdf/204

 He was not at all sure that they would ever reach the shore, although Mr. Williams had said they would. Freckles wondered what it would feel like to drown. Would his chums at home know what had become of him?

Would he ever see Mr. Williams again? Many of the animals he knew were doomed.

As the minutes went by, Freckles saw to his great alarm that Dapples was swimming slower and slower. He was gettin tired. Would he hold out?

Freckles himself paddled away for dear life with his free arm, and also did some frantic kicking, but it did not seem to help very much.

At last it seemed to him that they were not moving at all. Then he discovered that Dapples was resting and merely keeping afloat. But finally he got his wind again, and they started slowly forward.

But the ship was getting smaller and