CHAPTER XIII
JAN'S QUEER RIDE
"What's the matter? What is it?" cried Nora from the bank where she wastossing bits of wood into the lake for Trouble to pretend they werelittle boats. "Have you got a cramp, Teddy boy?"
"It's a--a big fish--or--somethin'," he panted, as he kept on runningand splashing the water all about, which, after all, did not matter ashe was in his bathing suit.
"It's a shark after him!" cried Jan, who, by this time, was safe onshore, stopping on her way to grasp Trouble by the hand and lead himalso to safety. "It's a shark!"
She had heard her mother read of bathers in the ocean being sometimesfrightened by sharks, or by big fish that looked like sharks.
"Oh, a shark! Good land! We mustn't bathe here any more!" cried Nora.
By this time Ted was in such shallow water that it was not much abovehis ankles. He could see the bottom, and he hoped no very big fish couldswim in so little water. So he thought it would be safe to stop and lookback.
"Oh, it's coming some more!" cried Jan, from where she stood on the bankwith Nora and Trouble. "Look, Ted! It's coming."
The animal, fish, or whatever it was, indeed seemed to be comingstraight for the shore near the place where the Curlytops were playing.Ted, Jan and Nora could see the sharp nose and the bright eyes moreplainly now. As for Trouble, he did not know what it was all about, andhe wanted to go back in the water to wade, which was as near swimming ashe ever came.
Then the strange creature turned and suddenly made for a small rock,which stood out of the water a little way from the sandy beach. Itclimbed out on the rock, while the children and Nora watched eagerly,and then Ted gave a laugh.
"Why!" he exclaimed, "it's nothing but a big muskrat!"
"A muskrat?" echoed Jan.
"Yes."
"And see, he has a mussel, or fresh-water clam," said Nora. "Look athim crack the shell."
And this is what the muskrat was really doing. It had been swimming inthe lake--for muskrats are good swimmers--when it had found afresh-water mussel, which is like a clam except that it has a longershell that is black instead of white. Muskrats like mussels, but theycannot eat them in water.
They have to bring them up on shore, or to a flat rock or stump thatsticks up out of water, where they can crack the shell and eat themussel inside.
"If I'd a known what it was I wouldn't 'a' been scared," said Ted, whofelt a little ashamed of himself for hurrying toward shore. "Youfrightened me yelling so, Jan."
"Well, I didn't want to see you get bit by a shark, Teddy. First Ithought it was a shark."
"Well, sharks live in the ocean, where the water is salty," declaredTed.
"Anyhow maybe a muskrat bites," went on Janet.
"Well, maybe," agreed Ted. "I guess it's a good thing I didn't staythere when he came swimming in," for the big rat passed right over theplace where Ted had been about to swim. "I'm glad you yelled, Janet."
"So'm I. I'm not going in swimming here any more."
"Oh, he won't come back," Ted said. "Come on!"
But Janet would not go, and as it was no fun for Ted to splash in thewater all alone he stayed near shore and went wading with Trouble andhis sister.
This was fun, and the Curlytops had a good time, while Nora, now thatshe knew there was no danger from sharks, sat in the shade and mendedholes in the children's stockings.
"I wish we had a boat," said Ted after a while.
"Why, we have," answered Jan.
"Yes, I know, the big rowboat. But that's too heavy for me and you--Imean you and me," and Ted quickly corrected himself, for he knew it waspolite always to name oneself last. "But I want a little boat that wecan paddle around in."
Jan thought for a moment and then cried:
"Oh, I know the very thing!"
"What?" asked Ted eagerly.
"One of the boxes grandpa brought the things in from the store. They'relong, and we can make box-boats of them. There's two of 'em!"
"That's what we can!" cried Teddy, as he thought of the boxes his sistermeant. Groceries from the store had been sent to the camp in them. Theboxes were strong, and long; big enough for Jan or Ted to sit down inthem and reach over the sides to paddle, not being too high.
Mother Martin said they might take the boxes and make of them theplay-boats they wanted, and, in great delight, Ted and his sister ran toget their new playthings.
Grandpa Martin pulled out all the nails that might scratch the children,and he also fastened strips of wood over the largest cracks in theboxes.
"That will keep out some of the water, but not all," he said. "Yourbox-boats won't float very long. They'll sink as soon as enough waterruns in through the other cracks."
"Oh, well, we'll paddle in them in shallow water," promised Ted. "Andsinking won't hurt, 'cause we've got on our bathing suits. Come on,Jan!"
Trouble wanted to sail in the new boats, also, but they were not largeenough for two. Besides Mrs. Martin did not want the baby to be in thewater too much. So she carried him away, Trouble crying and screaming tobe allowed to stay, while Jan and Ted got ready for their first trip.They pretended the boats were ocean steamers and that the cove in thelake, near grandpa's camp, was the big ocean.
They had pieces of wood which their grandfather had whittled out forthem to use as paddles, and, as Ted said, they could sit down in thebottoms of the box-boats and never mind how much water came in, for theystill had on their bathing suits.
"All aboard!" called Teddy, as he got into his boat.
"I'm coming," answered Janet, pushing off from shore.
"Oh, I can really paddle!" cried Ted in delight, as he found that hisbox floated with him in it and he could send it along by using the boardfor a paddle, as one does in a canoe. "Isn't this great, Janet?"
"Oh, it's lots of fun!"
"I'm glad you thought of it. I never would," went on Ted. He was a goodbrother, for, whenever his sister did anything unusual like this healways gave her credit for it.
Around and around in the little cove paddled the Curlytops, having funin their box-boats.
"I'm going to let the wind blow me," said Jan, after a bit. "I'm tiredof paddling."
"There isn't any wind," Ted remarked.
"Well, what makes me go along, then!" asked his sister. "Look, I'mmoving and I'm not paddling at all!"
She surely was. In her boat she was sailing right across the littlecove, and, as Ted had said, there was not enough wind to blow a feather,to say nothing of a heavy box with a little girl in it.
"Isn't it queer!" exclaimed Janet. "What makes me go this way, Ted? Youaren't sailing."
Ted's boat was not moving now, for he had stopped paddling.
Still Jan's craft moved on slowly but surely through the water. Then Tedsaw a funny thing and gave a cry of surprise.