"No red men in mine, Tom. But wouldn't you like an outing of that sort, just for a change?"
"Don't know but what I would. But we couldn't take the girls along very well."
"No, we could leave them with their friends at the plantation."
On the following day it began to rain, and all had to keep to the cabin of the houseboat. At first, the rain came down lightly, but towards noon it poured in torrents. Out on the river the weather grew so thick that they could not see a hundred feet in any direction.
"Better run for the shore and tie up," said Dick to Captain Starr. "We don't want to run the risk of a collision, especially when our time's our own."
"I was just going to suggest it," said the skipper of the Dora, and soon they were turning toward shore. A good landing place was found and the houseboat was tied up near several large trees in that vicinity.
Instead of abating, the storm kept increasing in violence. So far, there had been but little thunder and lightning, but now several vivid flashes lit up the sky, and some sharp cracks made the girls jump.
"Oh, I detest a thunder storm," cried Nellie. "I wish it was over."
"So do I," answered Dora. "But I suppose we have got to make the best of it."
"Do not sit so close to an open window," said Mrs. Laning.
"I was going to close the window," came from Mrs. Stanhope. "I never sit with a window open during such a storm as this." And then the window was closed, and also the door.
"I'm going out for some fresh air," said Tom a little later, when the worst of the lightning seemed to be over. "I hate to be cooped up like a chicken in a hen-house." And, getting out his rain-coat, he went on deck, and presently Dick followed him.
"This will make the river swell up," remarked Dick, gazing around curiously. "Gracious, how it pours!"
"The wind is rising. That's a sign it is going to clear up."
"Not always, Tom. I think this storm will last all day, and perhaps to-night, too."
The boys walked from one end of the houseboat to the other and gazed out on the rolling river. Then a gust of wind almost took them from their feet.
"Phew! we can't stand much of this," observed Dick. "We'll get drenched in spite of our rain-coats. I think – "
Dick got no further, for at that moment there was a weird flash of lightning, followed by an ear-splitting crash of thunder. Then came a crash of another kind.
"Look out! One of the trees is coming down on the houseboat!" ejaculated Dick.
As he uttered the words another crash followed, and down came the trunk of a big tree, cutting into the companion ladder and the cabin of the Dora. One of the branches of the tree swept over poor Tom, and before he could save himself, he was hurled into the river.
CHAPTER VI
THE EFFECTS OF A BIG STORM
"Tom!" cried Dick, as he saw his brother swept from view.
There was no answer to this call, and, much alarmed, the eldest Rover leaped over a limb of the fallen tree and ran to the edge of the houseboat.
The rain was again coming down in torrents and for the moment Dick could see little or nothing. He heard a cry from the cabin of theDora, and this increased his dismay.
At last he caught sight of Tom's head, about ten feet away from the houseboat. A glance showed him that his brother was unconscious and on the point of sinking again.
"I must save him!" muttered Dick to himself, and, without an instant's hesitation, he leaped overboard.
"Dick! Tom!" The cry was uttered by Sam as he came running out of the houseboat, hatless and in his shirt sleeves.
The fallen tree obstructed his view, and it was several seconds before he caught sight of his brothers in the water.
"Dick!" he yelled. "What's the matter?"
"Throw me a rope," was the answer, and it did not take Sam long to obey instructions. Then Dick caught Tom under the shoulders, and both were hauled back to the side of the Dora.
"Did the tree knock you overboard?" asked Sam anxiously.
"It knocked Tom over," answered Dick.
Just as he was placed on deck again, Tom opened his eyes and stared around him.
"Who – where am I?" he demanded faintly.
"You are safe, Tom," answered Dick kindly. "Don't you remember, the tree knocked you overboard?"
"Oh!" The fun-loving Rover drew a long breath. "Did you fish me out?"
"I jumped in after you, and Sam fished us both out."
"Good enough."
By this time some of the others were stepping forth from the wreck of the cabin. All were more or less excited, and the girls and ladies came out hatless and coatless despite the rain, which now seemed to come down with renewed fury, as if to add to their misery.
"Is anybody hurt?" demanded Dick.
"I was hit by a broken board," answered Mrs. Laning. "But it scared me more than anything else."
"One of the broken windows came in on me and covered me with glass," came from Songbird. "But wasn't that a crack of thunder! I thought it was the crack of doom!"
"And were you really hurled overboard?" asked Nellie, rushing up to Tom and almost embracing him. "You poor boy! How glad I am that you were not drowned!"
"Well, come to think of it, I'm glad myself," he returned with a little smile.
"Oh, Tom, it's nothing to joke about!"
"That is true, Nellie."
"Say, I ton't vont no more oxcitements like dot!" cried Hans. "I vos schared out of mine vits alretty, ain't it!"
"We were all scared," said Fred. "But hadn't we better get inside again? We are all getting wet to the skin."
"The cabin is in an awful mess," declared Dora, and she told the truth. Daylight was streaming through a hole in one corner and the rain was entering in a stream.
"Let us get a tarpaulin and cover that hole," said Dick. "I'll do it," he added. "I can't get any wetter than I am," and he gave a short laugh.
"And I'll help," said Tom, who had recovered rapidly from his involuntary bath.
"We shall need a carpenter to make repairs," said Captain Starr, who had been working to shove off the fallen tree. "This smash-up is a pretty bad one."
The boys remained outside, and all went to work to remove the tree trunk and to cover the hole with a heavy tarpaulin. It was a task lasting the best part of an hour, and when it had come to an end, the rain was slackening up.
"We shall certainly have to lay up somewhere for repairs," said Fred.
"We can't continue the journey in this condition."
"Let us hire a carpenter at the next town we stop at," suggested Sam, and to this they agreed.
The mess in the cabin was left for Aleck to clean up, and then the ladies and the girls straightened things out as best they could. As soon as the storm cleared away, the journey down the Mississippi was continued.
"I can't help but think of what might have happened if that stroke of lightning had hit the houseboat," said Songbird. "It makes me shiver."
"We certainly had a narrow escape," answered Dora. "I never wish to get quite so close to another stroke."
On the following day, they stopped at a place which I shall call Ramontown. From one of the dock owners, they learned where they could find a master carpenter, and they called upon this individual and had him look at the damage done.
"I can fix up the craft as good as she ever was," said he. "But it will take at least a week, and it will take several days more to give her two good coats of paint."
The