A VOYAGE. 55

 

 

Caroline and her party have a sail. The village. The line cast off.

 

“ Now send her ahead,” said Phonny, “right toward
the other boat.”

“So Caroline paddled as well as she could, and suc-
ceeded in propelling her boat slowly in the direction of
the sail-boat. As soon as Phonny could reach, he gave
the end of the painter to one of the men in the sail-boat,
and the man fastened it there in some way or other. His
comrades then hoisted the sail, and thus the wind carried
both boats on together.

Caroline and her party had a delightful sail. They had
nothing to do now but to sit upon the seats and enjoy the
gentle motion of the boat as it glided smoothly and noise-
lessly through the water. The men in the sail-boat
turned around occasionally to look at them, and some-
times asked them questions in respect to their being
caught out in the shower. Excepting this, the parties in
both boats sailed along in silence most of the way. Ca-
roline and the children in fact began to feel somewhat
tired, for they had been out now a long time, and had
passed through such a variety of excitements that they
seemed glad of a little rest.

At length they came in sight of the village, and of the
mill standing at the border of it, near the stream. 'The
men seemed to be steering the sail-boat directly toward
the mill. The breeze was fresh, and the boats glided along
very rapidly through the water, and at length began to
draw quite near. Caroline was looking out toward the
shore, wondermg where the men were going to land,
when suddenly one of the men who was seated in the
stern of the sail-boat, untied the painter of the children’s
boat and cast it off into the water, saying, at the same
time,