A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



I think we were over an hour getting back 

 to the decoys. After this the wind increased, 

 and the choppy sea begun to look ugly. The 

 boat took in water, and we realized that we 

 were in danger of being swamped at any 

 moment. The young man wanted to leave 

 the anchor and decoys, and make for the 

 bar. I was ready to go, but refused to leave 

 the decoys. I knew that I would have them 

 to pay for, and there was a good reason for 

 taking them on board: they would help to 

 keep the boat afloat. The young fellow 

 bailed the boat, while I pulled in the decoys. 

 We got under way, and for two hours we had 

 all we could do to keep our boat from going 

 ashore on the rocks. We did not get to the 

 bar. At the end of two hours there came a 

 lull in the wind, and we gradually worked the 

 boat toward the bar. When we saw a big 

 wave coming, we swung the boat bow on, and 

 thus kept from being swamped. After a ter- 

 rible struggle, we crossed the bar and made 

 fast to a boat-landing in the river just in 

 time to escape from a fierce tornado. If we 

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