"Perhaps we shall upset in the rips," said some of the boys.
"No matter if we do," said Marco; "it is not deep in the rips, and of
course there is no danger."
"That is in our favor certainly," said Forester. "Whenever the current
sets strong, there it is sure to be shallow, so that if we upset
we should not be drowned; and where it is deep, so as to make it
dangerous for us to get in, it is always still, and thus there is no
danger of upsetting."
"What is the reason of that?" said one of the boys.
"The reason is given in this way," said Forester, "in the college
mathematics. The velocity of a stream is inversely as the area of the
section."
The boys did not understand such mathematical phraseology as this, and
so Forester clothed his explanation in different language. He said
that where the stream was shallow or narrow, the current must be more
rapid, in order to get all the water through in so small a space, but
where it is deep, it may move slowly.
Forester landed his crew upon the rocky point, where they had a very
pleasant view up and down the river. He proposed to them to have their
luncheon there, and to this they agreed. So they went back to the edge
of the rocks, where there was a little grove of trees, and they sat
down upon a log which had been worn smooth by the action of the water
in floods, and bleached by the sun.
There were plenty of dry sticks and slabs lying about upon the shore,
which Forester ordered the crew to collect in order to build a fire.
It was not cold, and they had no need of a fire for any purposes
of cooking, but a fire would look cheerful and pleasant, and they
accordingly made one. Forester had some matches in his pocket. Two of
the crew brought the basket from the boat, and when they had opened
it, they found an abundant store of provisions. There was a dozen or
more of round cakes, and a large apple-pie, which, as there were just
eight of them, gave forty-five degrees to each one. There was also a
jug of milk, and a silver mug, which Forester's mother had lent them
for the excursion, to drink out of.
The boys, whose appetites had been sharpened by their exertions in the
portage of the boat round the falls, and in rowing, did not cease
to eat until the provisions were entirely exhausted, and then they
carried the empty basket back to the boat. Soon after this, Forester
summoned what he called a council of war, to consider the question
whether they had better go down the river. He said he wanted their
true and deliberate judgment in the case.
