following the boat, and were safely aboard the "Old Woman" and
slowly moving away down the river. They stood in the stern of the
boat, listening to Fidel's wild barks, and waving their hands,
until Granny's kind face was a mere round speck in the distance.


X

ON THE TOW-PATH

ON THE TOW-PATH

When they could no longer see Granny, nor hear Fidel, the
children sat down on a coil of rope behind the cabin and felt
very miserable indeed. Marie was just turning up the corner of
her apron to wipe her eyes, and Jan was looking at nothing at all
and winking very hard, when good Mother De Smet, came by with a
baby waddling along on each side of her. She gave the two dismal
little faces a quick glance and then said kindly:

"Jan, you run and see if you can't help Father with the tiller,
and, Marie, would you mind playing with the babies while I put on
the soup-kettle and fix the greens for dinner? They are beginning
to climb everywhere now, and I am afraid they will fall overboard
if somebody doesn't watch them every minute!"

Jan clattered at once across the deck to Father De Smet, and
Marie gladly followed his wife to the open space in front of the
cabin where the babies had room to roll about. Half an hour
later, when Mother De Smet went back to get some potatoes for the