CHAPTER XXII.
IN THE GLARE OF THE SEARCH-LIGHT Now the tide is a funny thing, especially in a small suburban river.
The banks of a river being for the most part sloping, the river bed is narrower at the bottom than at the top.

You don't have to wear glasses to see that.

That is why the tide, as it recedes, runs faster and faster; because during the last hour or two of its recession it flows in narrower confines.

This has been the settled policy of nature for many centuries, and it was so ordered for the benefit of Pee-wee Harris.
When the Merry-go-round Island floated leisurely against the Skybrow lawn the tide had been flowing out for about an hour.

When this same rechristened island broke loose disguised as an earthly paradise, the tide was in a great hurry.