Small buildings along the shore lay toppled over,
boats were here and there marooned high and dry many yards from the
shore, and the river was almost impassable in places from the
obstructions of uprooted trees and other debris.
At about noon they reached a point where the stream petered out so that
further navigation even by canoe was impossible; but they were already
in the outskirts of West Nyack.
"The next number on the program," said Roy, "is to administer first aid
to the canoe in the form of a burlap bandage. Pee-wee, you're appointed
chairman of the grass committee--pick some grass and let's pad her up."
If you have never administered "first aid" to a canoe and "padded it up"
for shipment, let me tell you that the scout way of doing it is to bind
burlap loosely around it and to stuff this with grass or hay so that the
iron hook which is so gently wielded by the expressman may not damage
the hull.
Having thus prepared it for its more prosaic return journey by train,
they left the boat on the shore and following a beaten path came
presently into the very heart of the thriving metropolis of West Nyack.
"I feel as if we were Lewis and Clarke, or somebody, arriving at an
Indian village," said Pee-wee.
At the express office Roy arranged for the shipment of the canoe back to
Bridgeboro, and then they started along the road toward Nyack. It was on
this part of their journey that something happened which was destined
materially to alter their program.
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