His boat stranded several yards from the shore. Throwing down his
oars, he rose and faced her. Was it the last rays of the setting
sun which made her face so rosy, or was it embarrassment?
"I'm in a dilemma, Mr. Scofield," Miss Madison began hesitatingly.
"And you would rather be in your boat," he added.
"That would not help me any, seeing where my boat is. I have done
such a stupid thing! I stole away here to finish a book, and--
well--I didn't notice that the tide was running out. I'm sure I
don't know what I'm going to do."
Scofield put his shoulder to an oar and tried to push his craft to
what deserved the name of shore, but could make little headway. He
was glad to learn by the effort, however, that the black mud was
not unfathomable in depth. Hastily reversing his action, he began
pushing his boat back in the water.
"Surely, Mr. Scofield, you do not intend to leave me," began Miss
Madison.
"Surely not," he replied; "but then, since you are so averse to my
company, I must make sure that my boat does not become as fast as
yours on this ebb-tide, otherwise we should both have to wait till
the flood.
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