Chapter 21 THE SACK AT LAST!
　　Down went the boys again and once more the raft jerked violently. The girls peered anxiously overthe edge, waiting for them to return.
　　Julian and Dick were down at the sunken boat in a matter of a second or two. They finished the taskof tying the rope to the waterproof¹ bag. Julian gave it a hard jerk, hoping to free it if it were wedgedtightly into the boat. He took the rest of the rope length in his hands in order to take it up to thesurface.
　　Then, bursting for breath again, the two boys shot up to the raft, popping out of the water with loudgasps. They climbed on board.
　　They took a minute to get their breath and then Dick and Julian took the rope together. The girlswatched, their hearts beating fast. Now was the test! Would that waterproof sack come up - or not?
　　The boys pulled strongly but without jerking. The raft slanted² and Anne made a grab at the pile ofclothes in the middle. Dick fell off into the water again.
　　He climbed back, spluttering. 'Have to pull more smoothly,' he said. 'I felt the sack give a bit, didn'tyou?'
　　Julian nodded. He was shivering with cold, but his eyes were shining with excitement. Anne put amacintosh round his shoulders and one round Dick's too. They never even noticed!
　　'Now - pull again,' said Julian. 'Steady does it - steady - steady! It's coming! Gosh, it's really coming.
　　Pull, Dick, pull!'
　　As the heavy bag came up on the end of the rope, the raft slanted again, and the boys pushedthemselves back to the other side of the raft, afraid of upsetting everyone into the water. Timmybegan to bark excitedly.
　　'Be quiet, Timmy,' said George at once. She knew how easily sound travels over water, and she wasafraid the couple in the tents might hear him.
　　'It's coming - it's there, look - just below the surface!' said Anne. 'One more pull, boys!'
　　But it was impossible to pull the heavy bag on board without upsetting the raft. As it was, the girlsgot very wet when the water splashed over the raft as it jerked and slanted.
　　'Look - let's paddle back to the shore and let the sack drag behind us.' said Julian, at last. 'We 86shall only upset the raft. Dress again, Dick, and we'll get back to the old house and open the sack incomfort. I'm so cold now that I can hardly feel my fingers.'
　　The boys dressed as quickly as they could. They were shivering, and were very glad to take up theirpaddles and work hard to get the raft back to shore. They soon felt a welcome warmth stealingthrough their bodies, and in ten minutes had stopped shivering. They felt very pleased withthemselves indeed.

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