Project Gutenberg's The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea, by Janet Aldridge This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea Or The Loss of The Lonesome Bar Author: Janet Aldridge Release Date: November 18, 2005 [EBook #17099] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA *** Produced by Jason Isbell, Greg Weeks, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net The Sea Lay Sparkling in the Sunlight. The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea OR The Loss of The Lonesome Bar By JANET ALDRIDGE Author of the Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas, The Meadow-Brook Girls Across Country, The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat, The Meadow-Brook Girls in The Hills, The Meadow-Brook Girls on The Tennis Courts THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY Akron, Ohio New York Made in U.S.A. Copyright MCMXIV By THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY CONTENTS Chapter. Page. I A Delightful Mystery 7 II What Came of a Cold Plunge 21 III Harriet Has a Narrow Escape 33 IV A Question of Politics 43 V The Rocky Road to Wau-Wau 56 VI At Home by the Sea 73 VII A Sudden Storm 83 VIII A Never-to-be-Forgotten Night 91 IX A Surprise That Proved a Shock 102 X Summoned to the Council 109 XI A Reward Well Earned 120 XII Mystery on a Sand Bar 131 XIII A Strange Proceeding 139 XIV A Visitor Who Was Welcome 147 XV Tommy Makes a Discovery 157 XVI Too Good to be True 167 XVII When Their Ship Came In 178 XVIII Fireworks From the Masthead 190 XIX Sailing the Blue Water 200 XX Out of Sight of Land 214 XXI An Anxious Outlook 225 XXII In the Grip of Mighty Seas 232 XXIII Waging a Desperate Battle 239 XXIV Conclusion 246 The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea CHAPTER I A DELIGHTFUL MYSTERY "I think we are ready to start, girls." Miss Elting folded the road map that she had been studying and placed it in a pocket of her long dust coat. There was a half-smile on her face, a merry twinkle in her eyes. "Which way do I drive?" questioned Jane McCarthy. "Straight ahead out of the village," answered Miss Elting, the guardian of the party of young girls who were embarking on their summer's vacation under somewhat unusual circumstances. "It's the first time I ever started for a place without knowing what the place was, or where I was going," declared Jane McCarthy, otherwise known as "Crazy Jane." "Won't you pleathe tell uth where we are going?" lisped Grace Thompson. Miss Elting shook her head, with decision. "Do my father and mother know where we are going?" persisted Grace. "Of course they know, Tommy. The parents of each of you know, and I know, and so shall you after you reach your destination. Have you everything in the car, Jane?" "Everything but myself," nodded Jane. The latter's automobile, well loaded with camping equipment, stood awaiting its passengers. The latter were Miss Elting, Jane McCarthy, Harriet Burrell, Grace Thompson, Hazel Holland and Margery Brown, the party being otherwise known as "The Meadow-Brook Girls." "Get in, girls. We'll shake the dust of Meadow-Brook from our tires before you can count twenty," continued Jane. "If Crazy Jane were to drive through the town slowly folks surely would think something startling had happened to her. Is there anything you wish to do before we leave, Miss Elting?" "Not that I think of at the moment, Jane." "Oh, let's say good-bye to our folks," suggested Margery Brown. "I have thaid good-bye," answered Grace with finality. "We'll give them a farewell blast," chuckled Jane. With that she climbed into the car, and, with a honk of the horn, drove down that street and into the next, keeping the horn going almost continually. As they passed the home of each girl the young women gave the yell of the Meadow-Brook Girls: "Rah, rah, rah, Rah, rah, rah! Meadow-Brook, Meadow-Brook, Sis, boom, ah!" [7] [8] [9] It was shouted in chorus at their homes, and as the car passed the homes of their friends as well. Hands were waved from windows, hats were swung in the air by boy friends, while the older people smiled indulgently and nodded to them as the rapidly moving motor car passed through the village. "I think the town knows all about it now. Suppose we make a start?" suggested Miss Elting. "We haven't therenaded the pothtmathter yet," Tommy reminded her. "Nor the butcher, the baker and the candle-stick maker," answered Harriet Burrell laughingly. "How long a drive have we, Miss Elting?" "Four or five hours, ordinarily. Jane undoubtedly will make it in much less time, if she drives at her usual rate of speed. Straight south, Jane. I will tell you when to change." The faces of the girls wore a puzzled expression. They could not imagine where they were going. Miss Elting had made a mystery of this summer vacation, and not a word had the girls been able to obtain from her as to where they were to go: whether to tour the country in Crazy Jane's automobile, or to go into camp. Tommy declared that it was a perfectly delightful mythtery, and that she didn't care where they were going, while Margery on the contrary, grumbled incessantly. The start had been made late in the afternoon. The day had been cloudy. There were even indications of rain, but the girls did not care. They were too well inured to the weather to be disturbed by lowering skies and threatening clouds. In the meantime Jane McCarthy was bowling along to the southward, throwing up a cloud of dust, having many narrow escapes from collisions with farmers' wagons and wandering stock. They had been traveling about two hours when the guardian directed their daring driver to turn to the left. The latter did so, thus heading the car to the eastward. "I think I begin to understand," thought Harriet Burrell aloud. "What ith it that you underthtand?" demanded Tommy, pricking up her ears. "You know where we are going, don't you?" "I can make a close guess," replied Harriet, nodding brightly. "Oh, tell uth, tell uth," begged Tommy. Harriet shook her head. "I couldn't think of it. Miss Elting wishes it to be a surprise to you." "Well, won't it be jutht ath much of a thurprithe now ath it will be thome other time?" argued Grace Thompson. "Perhaps Harriet just imagines she knows. I do not believe she knows any more about our destination than do the rest of our party," said the guardian. "But why worry about it? You will know when you get there." Jane stopped the car, and, getting out, proceeded to put the curtains up on one side, Harriet and Hazel doing the same on the opposite side. The storm curtain, with its square of transparent isinglass, was next set in place to protect the driver from the front, the wind shield first having been turned down out of the way. "Now let the rain come," chuckled Jane, after having taken a quick survey of their work. "Yes; it is nice and cosy in here," answered Miss Elting. "I almost believe I should like to sleep in here during a rainstorm." "Excuthe me," objected Tommy. "I'd be thure to get crampth in my neck." "She would that," answered Jane laughingly, starting the car and a moment later throwing in the high-speed clutch. The party was not more than fairly started on the way again when the raindrops began pattering on the leather top of the car. "There it comes," cried Jane McCarthy. "Sounds like rain on a tin roof, doesn't it?" The downpour rapidly grew heavier, accompanied by lightning and thunder. The flashes were blinding, dazzling Jane's eyes so that she had difficulty in keeping her car in the road. It was now nearly evening, and an early darkness had already settled over the landscape. There was little hope of more light, for night would be upon them by the time the storm had passed. True, there would be a moon behind the clouds, but the latter bade fair to be wholly obscured during the evening. Despite the blinding storm that masked the road, and the sharp flashes of lightning that dazzled the eyes of the driver, Crazy Jane McCarthy went on driving ahead at the same rate of speed until Miss Elting begged her to go more slowly. Jane reduced the speed of the car, though so slightly as to be scarcely noticeable. The guardian smiled but made no further comment. Being shut in as they were, they would have difficulty in getting out were an accident to befall them. All at once, however, Jane slowed down with a jolt. She then sent the car cautiously ahead, this time driving out on a level grass plot at the side of the road. There she shut down, turned off the power, and, [10] [11] [12] [13] leaning back, yawned audibly. "Whoa!" she said wearily. "Why, Jane, what is the matter?" cried Miss Elting. "Like a sailboat, we can't make much headway without wind. As it happens, we have no wind on the quarter, as the sailors would say." "I don't understand." "She means the tires are down," explained Harriet Burrell. "Yes. I told Dad those rear tires were leaking, but he declared they were good for five hundred miles yet." "Can't we patch them?" queried Harriet. "We can," replied Jane, "but we aren't going to until this rain lets up a little. Please don't ask me to get out and paddle about in the wet, for I'm not going to do anything of the sort." Jane began to hum a tune. Her companions settled back comfortably. It was dry and cosy in the car and the travellers felt drowsy. Jane was the only really wide-awake one. Margery finally uttered a single, loud snore that awakened the others. The girls uttered a shout and began shaking Margery, who pulled herself sharply together, protesting that she hadn't been asleep for even one little minute. "That ith the way thhe alwayth doeth," observed Tommy. "Then thhe denieth it. I'm glad I don't thnore. Ithn't it awful to thnore, Mith Elting?" "Having too much to say is worse," answered Jane pointedly. "The storm has passed. Let's get out and fix things up. Harriet, will you help me? Miss Elting, if you will be good enough to engineer the taking-down of the side curtains and the lowering of the top I shall be obliged. We shan't need the top. We aren't going to have any more rain to-night, and I want all the light I can get, especially as we are going over strange roads. Have you been this way before?" "No, Jane, but I have the road map." "Road map!" scoffed the Irish girl. "I followed one once and landed in a ditch!" "That ith nothing for Crathy Jane to do," lisped Grace. "Right you are, Tommy," answered Jane with a hearty laugh. "Just as I thought, the tires, the inner tubes, are leaking around the valves. We shan't be able to do much with them, but I think we can make them hold until we get in. I'll have some new inner tubes sent out to us. By the way, are we going to be where we can send for supplies and have them delivered?" questioned Jane shrewdly. "Oh, I think so," was Miss Elting's evasive answer. "Aren't you glad you found out?" chuckled Harriet. Jane grinned, but said nothing. The work of patching the two inner tubes occupied nearly an hour before the tires were back in place and the car ready to start. Harriet, in the meantime, had lighted the big headlights and the rear light. "All aboard for Nowhere!" shouted Jane. The girls again took their places in the car, which started with a jolt. "Is it straight ahead, Miss Elting?" "Yes." "I hope you know where you're going. I'm sure I don't," remarked Jane under her breath. They had gone but a short distance before the driver discovered that which displeased her very much. The lights on the front of the car were growing dim. Her companions noticed this at about the same time. "The gas is giving out," exclaimed Jane. "Isn't that provoking? With us it is one continuous round of surprises." "What are we going to do?" questioned Margery apprehensively. "Just the same as before: keep on going," replied the Irish girl. "I've driven without lights before this. I guess I can do it again. I can see the road and so can you." "Please reduce your speed a little," urged Miss Elting. The driver did so, for Jane was not quite so confident of her ability to keep to the road as she would have had them believe. "There comes some one. Please stop; I want to ask him a question." A farmer on a horse had ridden out to one side of the road, where he was holding his mount, the horse being afraid of the car. Miss Elting asked him how they might reach the Lonesome Cove. The girls were very deeply interested in this question as well as in the answer to it. They had never heard of Lonesome Cove. So that was to be their destination? They nudged each other knowingly. The farmer informed Miss Elting that the Cove was about eight miles farther on. "Take your third right hand turn and it'll lead you right down into the Cove," he said. "It's a pretty lonesome place now," [14] [15] [16] he added. "Yes, I understand," replied the guardian hurriedly, "but we know all about that. Thank you very much. You may drive ahead now, Jane." Jane smiled and started on. "I keep watch of the turns of the road. You pay attention to your driving exclusively," added Miss Elting. "And, girls, you keep a sharp lookout, too." "Where ith thith Lonethome Cove?" questioned Tommy. "I don't like the thound of the name." "You will like it when you get there," answered the guardian. "But I said I would not tell you anything about it. Time enough when we reach there. You shall then see for yourselves. You are going too fast, Jane." "I'd like to reach there some time before morning. The road is clear and level. I'm going only twenty miles an hour, as it is. That's just a creeping pace, you know," reassured Jane. "Yes, I know," answered the guardian, with a shake of her head. They continued on, but without much conversation, for Jane was busy watching the road, her companions keeping a sharp lookout for the turns. They had already passed two roads that led off to the right. The next, according to their informant, would be the one for them to take to reach the Lonesome Cove. "Here is the third turn," announced Jane finally, bringing her car to a stop. The highway on which they had been riding was shaded with second-growth trees, as was the intersecting road. The latter was narrow; but, from Jane's investigations, she having stepped down to examine it, it was hard though not well-traveled. "Have you been here before, Miss Elting?" "No, Jane; I have not. Go ahead and drive carefully, for I hardly think it a main road." "It's a good one, whether it is a main road or not." They moved on down the side road, and, gaining confidence as they progressed, Jane McCarthy let out a notch at a time until she was traveling at a fairly high rate of speed. Their way wound in and out among the small trees and bushes that bordered the road, the latter narrowing little by little until there was barely room for turning out in case they were to meet another vehicle. However, there seemed little chance of that. The motor car appeared to be the only vehicle abroad that night. The road now was so dark that it was only by glancing up at the tops of the bordering trees, outlined against the sky, that the driver of the car was able to keep well in the middle of it. She was straining her eyes, peering into the darkness ahead. "How far?" demanded Jane shortly, never removing her gaze from the trees and the roadway. "We must be near the place. Surely it cannot be far now," answered the guardian. "I thought we should have seen a light before this." "We're coming into the open," broke in Jane. "I'm glad of that. Now we needn't be afraid of running into the trees or the fences, if there are any along the track. I can't make out the sides of the road at all. I—" A sudden and new sound cut short her words. The girls, realizing that something unusual was occurring, fell suddenly silent. The roadway beneath them gave off a hollow sound, as if they were going over a bridge. The fringe of trees had fallen away, while all about them was what appeared to be a darkened plain or field. Yet strain their eyes as they would, the travelers were unable to distinguish the character of their surroundings, though Harriet Burrell, with chin elevated, had been sniffing the air suspiciously. "I smell water," she cried. "Tho do I," lisped Tommy. "But I don't want a drink." Jane began to slow down as soon as the new sound had been heard. The car was rolling along slowly. For some unaccountable reason the driver put on a little more speed. Then came Jane McCarthy's voice, in a quick, warning shout: "Here's trouble. Jump, girls! Jump! We're going in!" They did not know what it was that they were going into, but not a girl of them obeyed Jane's command. Margery half- arose from the seat. Hazel pulled her back. "Sit still, girls!" commanded Miss Elting. "Stop the car, Jane!" The driver shut off and applied the brake. But she was too late. The automobile kept on going. The roadway underneath it seemed to be dropping away from them; for a few seconds they experienced the sensation of riding on thin air; then the car lurched heavily forward, and, with a mighty splash, plunged into water. A great sheet of solid water leaped up and enveloped them. "Everyone for herself!" cried Harriet Burrell. "Jump, girls!" [17] [18] [19] [20] This time they did essay to jump. Before they could do so, however, they were struggling to free themselves from the sinking car, the water already over their heads. CHAPTER II WHAT CAME OF A COLD PLUNGE Five girls and their guardian struggled free from the sinking motor car and began paddling for the surface. All knowing how to swim, they instinctively held their breath when they felt the water closing over them. Fortunately for the Meadow-Brook Girls, the top had been removed from the car, else all would have been drowned before they could have extricated themselves. Jane had the most difficulty in getting out. She was held to her seat by the steering wheel for a few seconds, but not so much as a thought of fear entered her mind. Crazy Jane went to work methodically to free herself, which she succeeded in doing a few seconds after her companions had reached the surface. "Thave me, oh, thave me!" wailed Tommy Thompson chokingly. There followed a great splashing, accompanied by shouts and choking coughs. About this time Jane McCarthy's head appeared above the water. She took a long, gasping breath, then called out: "Here we are, darlin's! Is anybody wet?" "Girls, are you all here?" cried Miss Elting anxiously. "Call your names." They did so, and there was relief in every heart when it was found that not a girl was missing. But they had yet to learn how they happened to be in the water. The latter was cold as ice, it seemed to them, and their desire now was to get to shore as quickly as possible. Which way the shore lay they did not know, but from the looks of the sky-line it was apparent that they would not be obliged to go far in either direction to find a landing place. "Follow me, girls," directed the guardian. "We will get out of here and talk about our disaster afterward. Harriet, please bring up the rear. Be sure that no one is left behind." The splashing ceased, each girl starting forward with her own particular stroke: Tommy swimming frog-fashion, Margery blowing, puffing, and groaning, paddling like a four-footed animal. "Oh, help!" she moaned. "I'm glad I'm not tho fat ath you are," observed Tommy to the puffing Margery. "That will do, Tommy! Buster is quite as well able to take care of herself as are you. I've touched bottom! Here we are, girls. Oh, I am so glad!" "Where ith it? I can't thee the bottom." "Stop swimming, and you'll feel it," suggested Jane, who, having reached the shore, waded out of the water and ran, laughing, up the bank. "My stars, what a mess!" One by one the others emerged from the cold water and stood shivering on the beach. "Wring out your clothes," directed Miss Elting. This, some of them were already doing. Margery sat down helplessly. Harriet assisted her to her feet. "You mustn't do that. You surely will catch cold. Keep moving, dear," ordered Harriet. "I can't. My clothes weigh a ton," protested Margery. "Buthter thinkth it ith her clotheth that are heavy," jeered Tommy. "It ithn't your clotheth, Buthter; it'th you." "Make her stop, Miss Elting. Don't you think I am suffering enough, without Tommy making me feel any worse?" "Yes, I do. Tommy, will you please stop annoying Margery?" "Yeth, Mith Elting, I'll thtop until Buthter getth dry again. But I'm jutht ath wet at thhe ith, and I'm not croth." "Girls, we have had a very narrow escape. I dread to think what would have happened had that automobile top been up. We should give thanks for our deliverance. But I don't understand how we came to get in there, or what it is that we did get into," said the guardian. "I know. It wath water," Tommy informed her. "It wath wet water, too, and cold water, and—" A shivering chorus of laughs greeted her words. Some of the girls began whipping their arms and jumping up and down, for all were very cold. [21] [22] [23] [24] "Can't we run?" asked Harriet. "Yes, if we can decide where the water is, and where it isn't," replied Miss Elting. "Suppose we find the road? We can run up and down that without danger of falling in." "It is just to the left of us; I can see the opening between the trees," answered Harriet. She moved in the direction she had indicated, "Here it is. Come on, girls." The others picked their way cautiously to her. Harriet started up the road at a run, followed by the others and accompanied by the "plush, plush, plush!" of shoes nearly full of water. Tommy sat down. "What are you doing on the ground?" shrieked Margery, as she stumbled and fell over her little companion. "Why don't you tell me when you are going to sit down, so that I won't fall over you?" "You wouldn't, if you weren't tho fat." "Tommy!" broke in Miss Elting. The whole party had come to a halt, following Margery's mishap. "I beg your pardon, Mith Elting. I forgot. Buthter ithn't dry yet. What am I doing? Yeth, I'm bailing out my thhoeth. Ugh! How they do thtick to my feet. Oh, I can't get them on again!" wailed Tommy. "What a helpless creature you are," answered Harriet laughingly. "Here, let me help you. There. You see how easy it is when once you make up your mind that you really can." "No, I don't thee. It ith too dark. Help me up!" "Take hold of my hand. Here, Margery, you get on the other side. We three will run together. Everyone else keep out of our way." "Yeth, becauthe Buthter ith—" Tommy, remembering her promise, checked herself. The three started up the road at a brisk trot. Reaching the main road, Harriet led them about, then began running back toward the water. "Look out for the water," warned Jane shrilly, after they had been going for a few minutes. But her warning came too late. Harriet, Tommy and Margery had turned to the right after reaching the open. The three fell in with a splash and a chorus of screams. The water was shallow and there was no difficulty in getting out, but the girls now were as wet as before, and shivering more than ever. At this juncture the guardian took a hand. She directed them to walk up and down the road in orderly fashion, which they did, shivering, their teeth chattering and the water dripping from their clothing. Reaching the main highway the guardian turned out on this, walking her charges a full mile in the direction they had been following before turning off into the byway. "This part of the country appears to be deserted," she said. "I think we had better return. In the morning we will try to find some one." "Thave me!" moaned Tommy. "Mutht we thtay here in our wet clotheth all night?" "I fear so. What else is there for us to do?" "But let uth get our dry clotheth and put them on," urged Tommy. The girls laughed at her. "Our clothes are down under the water in the car, darlin'," Jane informed her. "Of course, they are soaked," reflected Miss Elting. "I do not think so. The chest on the back of the car is water-proof as well as dust-proof," said Jane. "If it weren't water-proof the things in it would get soaked every time there was a driving rainstorm. No; our other clothing is as dry as toast. You'll see that it is when we get it." "Yes, when we do," groaned Margery—"when we do!" "It might as well be wet," observed the guardian. "We shan't be able to get it out. Do you think the car is ruined, Jane?" "It's wet, like ourselves, Miss Elting. I reckon it will take a whole summer to dry it out thoroughly. I've got to get word to Dad to come after it." "What will he say when he learns of the accident, Jane?" questioned Harriet. "Say? He will say it served the old car right for being such a fool. My dad has common sense. He will have another car up here for us just as soon as he can get one here. By the way, Miss Elting, how much farther do we have to go?" "I don't know, Jane. I hope it isn't much farther. How far do you think we traveled after meeting the man?" "Five miles, I should say." "And he told us that the third turn-off would lead us to Lonesome Cove, did he not?" "He did, but he made a mistake. This is Wet Cove." [25] [26] [27] "And a lonesome one, too, even if it isn't the Lonesome one," chuckled Harriet. "Then we cannot be so very far from our destination. I am sure this isn't the place. We haven't come far enough. Why didn't we think of that before we turned into this road?" "If I knew where you wanted to go, I might be better able to answer that question," reminded Jane. But the guardian was not to be caught in Crazy Jane's trap, though it was too dark to reveal the quizzical smile that wrinkled Miss Elting's face. "I am not sure that I know myself, Jane," was her reply. "You fully expected to find some one here, did you not?" teased Harriet. "I might say that you looked to find a number of persons here?" "We won't discuss that now. Do you wish to spoil the little surprise that I have been planning for you?" "If this is your surprise, I don't think much of it," declared Jane bluntly. "Nor can I blame you," agreed Miss Elting. "But this is not the surprise." "Maybe if we wait we will fall into thome more pondth," suggested Grace. "Ith your thurprithe ath wet at thith one wath?" "I admit your right to tease me, Tommy," laughed the guardian. "Come on, everybody!" urged Harriet. "We must walk briskly and keep it up. That will be the only way to keep us from catching cold as a result of our wetting." Having paused for a moment to discuss their situation the girls began tramping once more. As the hours dragged along all became weary and drowsy. Their joints were growing stiff, too, which condition was not improved by the chill of the night air. Most active of all the party was little Tommy Thompson, who skipped along, talking incessantly. Margery was scarcely able to keep up with the party. Twice she leaned against a tree, closing her eyes, only to fall to the ground in a heap. Harriet, though nearly as tired and footsore as her companions, summoned all her will power and trudged bravely along. Had the Meadow-Brook Girls not been so well seasoned to hardship, serious results might have followed their unexpected bath in the chill waters, followed by their exposure to the searching night wind. But they were healthy, outdoor girls, as all our readers know. The first volume of this series, "The Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas," told the story of their first vacation spent in the open, when, as members of Camp Wau-Wau in the Pocono Woods, they served their novitiate as Camp Girls, winning many honors and becoming firmly wedded to life in the woods. When that camping period came to an end Harriet and her companions, as related in "The Meadow-Brook Girls Across Country," set out on the long walk home, meeting with plenty of adventures and many laughable happenings. It was during this hike that they became acquainted with the Tramp Club Boys and entered into a walking contest against them, which the Meadow-Brook Girls won. Our readers next met the girls in "The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat," a volume which contained the account of their houseboat life on Lake Winnepesaukee. It was there that they again outwitted the Tramp Club, who took their defeat good-naturedly and by way of retaliation aided the girls in running down a mysterious enemy whose malicious mischief had caused them repeated annoyance. Then, as their summer was not yet ended, the Meadow-Brook Girls accepted an invitation from Jane McCarthy to accompany her on a trip through the White Mountains, all of which is fully set forth in "The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills." It was there that they met with a series of mishaps which they laid at the door of an ill-favored man who had vainly tried to become their guide. The disappearance of Janus Grubb, the guide who had been engaged by Miss Elting during their mountain hike, and the surprising events that followed made the story of their mountain trip well worth reading. And now, once more, we find the Meadow-Brook Girls ready to take the trail again wherever that trail might lead. At the present moment, however, it did not look as though Harriet Burrell and her friends would reach their destination in the immediate future unless it were nearer at hand than they thought. Not once during the night did the moon show her face, though about two o'clock in the morning the clouds thinned, the landscape showing with more distinctness. The girls, when they walked down to the shore, saw a sheet of water covering several acres. Leading down to the water was a pier that extended far out into the little lake or pond, whatever it might be. Harriet, Jane and Miss Elting walked out to the far end of the pier. Harriet pointed to the end of the pier as she stood above it. "It has broken down," she said. "No; I think not," answered the guardian. "I think, too, that I understand what this is. It is an ice pier. Ice is harvested from this pond and carried up over that sloping platform and so on to the shore or to conveyances waiting here. But how narrow it is. How ever did you manage to keep on the pier until you reached the end, Jane, dear?" "I really don't know, Miss Elting," replied Jane, evidently impressed with the feat she had accomplished. She leaned [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] over and peered into the water to see if she could find her car. It was not to be seen. Dark objects, floating here and there about the surface, showed the girls where part of their equipment had gone. Harriet was regarding the dark objects with inquiring eyes. "I wish we had a boat," said Miss Elting. "We could gather up our stuff. We can't afford to lose it." "We don't need a boat. Jane and I will get it out. What do you say, Jane?" answered Harriet. "I don't know what you have in mind, darlin', but I'm with you, whatever it is." "You and I will go in after the things." "You don't mean it!" exclaimed Jane. "And in this cold water. Br-rr-r!" "No; you must not do that," objected the guardian. "At least not now." "What is it you folks are planning?" questioned Hazel, who, with Tommy and Buster, had joined the party at the end of the pier. Jane explained what Harriet had proposed. Margery's teeth began to chatter again. "My—my weak heart won't stand any more," she groaned. "Don't ask me to go into that horrid, cold water again. Please don't!" "You won't feel the cold once you are in," urged Harriet. "No. I didn't feel it the other time, did I?" "What? Go in thwimming," demanded Tommy. "I wouldn't go in that water again for a dollar and fifty thentth; no, not for a dollar and theventy-five thentth." Tommy began backing away, as though fearing the others might insist and assist her in. Suddenly she uttered a scream. "Thave me!" yelled Tommy. They saw her lurch backward; her feet left the pier; then came a splash. Tommy Thompson had gone over backward and taken to the water head first. CHAPTER III HARRIET HAS A NARROW ESCAPE "Thave me! Oh, thave me!" Tommy had turned over and righted herself before rising to the surface. When she did appear she was within a foot or so of the pier. Her little blonde head popped up from under the water all of a sudden, and in that instant she opened her mouth in a wail for help. Tommy's companions were fairly hysterical with merriment. Tommy yelled again, begging them to "thave" her. "I'll save ye, darlin'," cried Jane, throwing herself down and fastening a hand lightly in Tommy's hair, whereat the little girl screamed more lustily than before. "Lend a hand here, my hearties. The darlin' wants to be saved. We'll save her, won't we?" Jane shouted in great glee. "Of course we will," answered Harriet. She leaned over the edge of the pier, Jane raising the little girl until the latter's shoulders were above water; Harriet got hold of her dress and worked her hand along until she had grasped Tommy by the ankles. "Let go!" yelled Tommy. She meant for Harriet to release her feet, but instead Jane McCarthy released her hold on Tommy's shoulders. The next second Tommy Thompson was standing on her head in the pond with Harriet Burrell jouncing her up and down, trying to get her out of the water, but taking more time about it, so it seemed, than was really necessary. Every time Tommy's head was drawn free of the water she uttered a choking yell. There was no telling how long the nonsense might have continued, had not Miss Elting thrust Harriet aside, resulting in Tommy's falling into the water and having to be rescued again. Tommy was weeping when finally they dragged her to the pier and wrung the water out of her clothing. "Now, don't you wish you were fat?" jeered Margery. "If you had been, they couldn't have lifted you and you wouldn't have fallen in again." "Fat like you? Never! I'd die firtht," replied Tommy. "But I may ath it ith. I'm freething, Mith Elting." "Get up and go ashore. Hazel, will you please see that Grace doesn't sit down on the cold ground?" Hazel Holland led the protesting Tommy along the pier to the shore, where she walked the little girl up and down as fast [33] [34] [35] as she could be induced to move, which, after all, was not much faster than an ordinarily slow walk. The others of the party remained out at the end, walking back and forth and waiting until the coming of the dawn, so that they might see to that for which they had planned by daylight. At the first suggestion of dawn, Harriet plunged into the pond without a word of warning to her companions and began gathering up and pushing bundles of equipment toward the shore. Jane and Hazel were not far behind her. Then Miss Elting, not to be outdone by her charges, plunged in after them. Margery, shivering, turned her back on them and walked shoreward. "'Fraid cat! 'fraid cat!" taunted Tommy, when she saw Margery coming. "I'm no more afraid than you are. You're afraid to go into the water. The only way you can go in is to fall in or be pushed!" "Am I? Ith that tho? Well, I'll thhow you whether I am afraid of the water. I dare you to follow me." Tommy fairly flew down the pier; then, leaping up into the air, jumped far out, taking a clean feet-first dive into the pond, uttering a shrill little yell just before disappearing under the surface. But all at once she stood up, and, by raising her chin a little, was able to keep her head above water. "Hello there, Tommy, what are you standing on?" called Harriet, puffing and blowing as she pushed a canvas-bound pack along ahead of her. "I don't know. I gueth it mutht be the automobile top. It ith nithe and thpringy." "Please stay there until I get back. I wish to look it over. If you can, I wish you would find the rear end of the car, so I may locate it exactly." "What have you in mind, darlin'?" asked Jane, with a quick glance at Harriet. "I'm going to try to get our clothes. The trunk is strapped and buckled to the rear end, is it not?" "Yes." "Tell me just how those buckles are placed; whether there is also a loop through which the strap has been run, and all about it." "How should I know?" "You put the trunk on, didn't you?" "Surely, but I can't remember all those things, even if I ever knew them." "Jane, you should learn to observe more closely. Most persons are careless about that." Harriet began swimming toward the shore with Jane. "Thay! How long mutht I thtand here in the wet up to my prethiouth neck?" demanded Grace Thompson. Her feet seemed to be very light. They persisted in either rising or drifting away from the submerged automobile top. Tommy kept her hands moving slowly to assist in maintaining her equilibrium. "Wait until I return, if you will, please," answered Harriet. "Thave me! I can't wait. Here I go now!" She slipped off and went under, but came up sputtering and protesting. Instead of remaining to mark the sunken car, Tommy swam rapidly to shore. She found Harriet, Hazel and Jane sitting with feet hanging over the pier talking to Miss Elting. The four were dripping, but none of them seemed to mind this. The sun soon would be up, and its rays would dry their clothing and bring them warmth for the first time since their disaster of the night before. "Do be careful," Miss Elting was saying when Tommy swam up, and, clinging to the pier with one hand, floated listlessly while listening to what was being said. "What's the matter, Tommy? Couldn't you stand it any longer?" asked Harriet. "My feet got tho light that I couldn't hang on." "She means her head instead of her feet," corrected Margery. "I think I had better go after the trunk now," decided Harriet. "I wish you would let me go with you," urged Jane. "No; two of us would be in each other's way. You folks had better stay here and wait. There will be plenty to do after I get the trunk ashore, provided I do. We must have all our outfit together by sunrise, for we have a day's work ahead of us. Want to get up, Tommy?" "Yeth." [36] [37] [38] Harriet reached down and assisted Grace, dripping, to the pier. Then she slipped in and swam in a leisurely way to the sunken automobile, which she located after swimming about for a few moments. The next thing to do was to find the rear end of the car. This was quickly accomplished. Harriet took a long breath, then dived swiftly. It seemed to her companions that she had been gone a long time, when, finally, the girl's dark head rose dripping from the pond. She shook her head, took several long breaths, then dived again. Three times Harriet Burrell repeated this. At last, after a brief dive, they saw the black trunk leap free to the surface of the pond. The Meadow-Brook Girls uttered a yell. Harriet had accomplished a task that would have proved to be too much for the average man. Down there, underneath the water, crouching under the backward tilting automobile on the bottom of the pond, she had unbuckled three stubborn straps, rising to the surface after unbuckling each strap, taking in a new supply of delicious fresh air, then returning to her task. Before the Meadow-Brook Girls had finished with their shouting, cheering and gleeful dancing, the black luggage had drifted some distance from the spot where it had first appeared. So delighted were they with the result of Harriet Burrell's efforts that, for the moment, the others entirely forgot the girl herself. But all at once Miss Elting came to a realization of the truth. Something was wrong. "Harriet!" she cried excitedly. It was unusual for the guardian to show alarm, even though she might feel it. "Where is Harriet?" The shouting and the cheering ceased instantly. "Oh, she's just playing a trick on us," scoffed Margery Brown. Suddenly the keen eyes of Jane McCarthy caught sight of something that sent her heart leaping. That something was a series of bubbles that rose to the surface. Jane gazed wide-eyed, neither moving nor speaking, then suddenly hurled herself into the pond. Two loud splashes followed her own dive into the water. Tommy and Miss Elting were plunging ahead with all speed. Jane was the first to reach the scene. She dived, came up empty-handed, then dived again. Tommy essayed to make a dive, but did not get in deep enough to fully cover her back. Miss Elting made an error in her calculations, as Jane had done on the first dive, missing the sunken automobile by several feet. Now Hazel sprang into the water and swam to them as fast as she knew how to propel herself. Jane shot out of the water and waved both arms frantically above her head. "Spread out!" she cried in a strained, frightened voice. "Did—didn't you find her?" gasped Miss Elting. "No." Jane was gone again, leaving a wake that reached all the way to the beach, so violent had been her floundering dive. Tommy, who had raised her head from the water a short distance from where the guardian was paddling, uttered a scream. "There thhe ith!" she cried; "there she ith! Right down there. Come in a hurry. She ith under the car. I could thee her plainly. Oh, I'm tho thcared!" Tommy began paddling for the shore with all speed. Miss Elting did not answer. Instead, she took a long dive. About this time Jane came up. Hazel, who was making for the spot where the guardian had disappeared, pointed to it. Jane understood. It took her but a few seconds to reach the center of the rippling circle left by the guardian; then Crazy Jane's feet kicked the air a couple of times. She had taken an almost perpendicular dive. But it seemed that she had not been under water more than a second or two when she lunged to the surface. A few feet from her Miss Elting appeared, threw herself over on her back and lay gasping for breath. "She'th got her!" screamed Tommy. "Harriet ith dead!" Gazing out over the pond she saw Jane swimming swiftly toward shore, dragging the apparently lifeless body of Harriet Burrell. Miss Elting and Hazel were closing up on Jane rapidly. Reaching her side a moment later, the guardian took one of Harriet's arms and assisted in towing her in. Tommy remembered afterward having been fascinated by the expressions in their faces. She stared and stared. The faces of the two women were white and haggard. Still farther back she saw only Hazel's eyes. They were so large that Tommy was scarcely able to credit their belonging to Hazel. Had Tommy known it, her own face was more pale and haggard at that moment than those of her companions. Jane dragged Harriet ashore; then Miss Elting grasped the unconscious girl almost roughly, flung her over on her stomach and began applying "first aid to the drowned." "Ith—ith she dead?" gasped Tommy. "She's drowned, darlin'," answered Crazy Jane McCarthy abruptly. [39] [40] [41] [42] CHAPTER IV A QUESTION OF POLITICS "Lay her over on her back!" Jane obeyed Miss Elting's command promptly. The guardian, using her wet handkerchief, cleared Harriet's mouth by keeping the tongue down to admit the air. "Work her arms back and forth. We must set up artificial respiration," she directed. Jane, without any apparent excitement, began a steady movement of the patient's arms, bringing them together above the head, then down to the sides. She continued this as steadily as if she were not face to face with a great tragedy. She did not yet know whether or not it were a tragedy; but, if appearances went for anything, it was. In the meantime the guardian had glanced over her shoulder at the pond. She saw the trunk slowly drifting in. "Get it and open it, Hazel," she commanded. "I haven't a key." "Break it open with a stone. Never mind a key." Hazel ran out into the water until she was up to her neck, then she swam out. Reaching the floating trunk, she got behind it and began pushing it shoreward. Margery and Tommy stood watching the proceedings in speechless horror. Hazel got the trunk ashore, when, following the guardian's directions, she broke the lock open with a stone. "It's open," she cried. "Are the things inside very wet?" "No; they are just as dry as they can be." "Good. Are Harriet's clothes there?" "I think so. Shall I take them out?" "Not just yet. I will tell you if they are needed." Hazel understood what was in the mind of the guardian. Were Harriet Burrell not to recover, the dry clothing would not be needed. Nevertheless, Hazel piled the contents of the trunk on the ground, then replaced it, leaving Harriet's belongings at the top of the pile, so that they would be ready at hand in case of need. In the meantime Crazy Jane and Miss Elting persisted in their efforts to resuscitate the unconscious girl. Though no sign of returning life rewarded their labor, they continued without a second's halting. Half an hour had passed. That was lengthened to an hour, then suddenly Jane stopped, leaned over and peered into the pale face of Harriet. "I see a little color returning!" she cried in a shrill voice. "Hurrah! Harriet's alive!" "You don't thay?" exclaimed Tommy. "Keep her arms going! Don't stop for a single second," commanded Miss Elting. "Hazel, take off Harriet's shoes. Beat the bottoms of her feet. Oh, if we had something warm to put her in. Margery, you get out Harriet's clothing from the trunk." "I—I can't," answered Buster in a weak voice. "Buthter ith too nervouth. I'll get them," offered Tommy. She did, too. Now that she had something to do, she went about it as calmly as though she had had no previous fear. "Are thethe what you want, Mith Elting?" she asked. "Yes; bring them here. She is breathing. Faster, Jane, faster!" "Don't pull her armth out by the roootth," warned Tommy. The guardian made no reply. It was a critical moment and Harriet Burrell's life hung on a very slender thread. Return to consciousness was so slow as to seem like no recovery at all. The spot of red that had appeared in either cheek faded and disappeared. Miss Elting's heart sank when she noted the change in the face of the unconscious girl. Jane saw it, too, but made no comment. Tommy, having taken the clothes from the trunk, now very methodically piled them up near at hand, so that the guardian might reach them without shifting her position materially. Then the little girl stood with hands clasped before her, her eyes squinting, her face twisted into what Jane afterward said was a really hard knot. Two tiny spots of red once more appeared in each cheek of Harriet's white face. "Shall I move her arms faster?" asked Jane. [43] [44] [45] [46] Miss Elting shook her head. "Keep on as you are. I don't quite understand, but she is alive. Of that I am positive." For fully fifteen minutes after that the two young women worked in silence. They noted joyfully that the tiny spots of color in Harriet's cheeks were growing. The spots were now as large as a twenty-five-cent piece. Miss Elting motioned for Jane to cease the arm movements, then she laid an ear over Harriet's heart. "Keep it up," she cried, straightening suddenly. "We are going to save her." Margery, who had drawn slowly near, turned abruptly, walked away and sat down heavily. Jane's under lip trembled ever so little, but she showed no other sign of emotion, and methodically continued at her work. "Now, as soon as we can get the breath of life into her body, we must strip off those wet clothes and bundle her into something dry. We shall be taking a great chance in undressing her in the open air, but the fact that Harriet is in such splendid condition should go a long way toward pulling her through. I wish we had a blanket to wrap her in. However, we shall have to do with what we have." Jane kept steadily at her work, her eyes fixed on the face of the patient. She made no reply to Miss Elting's words. Tommy, however, tilted her head to one side reflectively. Then she turned it ever so little, regarding the broken trunk as if trying to make up her mind whether or not she should hold it responsible for the disaster. After a few moments of staring at the trunk she sidled over to it, and, stooping down, began rummaging through its contents. From the trunk she finally drew forth a long flannel nightgown. This she carried over and gravely spread out on the pile of clothing that she had previously placed near Miss Elting. The guardian's eyes lighted appreciatively. "Thank you, dear. That is splendid," she said, flashing a smile at Tommy. "You are very resourceful. I am proud of you." "You're welcome," answered Grace with a grimace. "Ith there anything elthe that I can do?" Miss Elting shook her head. The smile had left her face; all her faculties were again centered on the work in hand. Shortly after that the two workers were gratified to note a quiver of the eyelids of the patient. This was followed by a slight rising and falling of the chest, and a few moments later Harriet Burrell opened her eyes, closed them wearily and turned over on her face. Crazy Jane promptly turned her on her back, and none too gently at that. "Plea—se let me alone. I'm all right," murmured Harriet. "Help me carry her out yonder under the trees," ordered the guardian. "There will be less breeze there." "I'll carry her, Miss Elting." Jane picked Harriet up, and, throwing the girl over her shoulder, staggered off into the bushes with her burden. Harriet was heavy, but Jane McCarthy's fine strength was equal to her task. Miss Elting had gathered up the clothing and followed. Tommy started to accompany her, but the guardian motioned her back. "Jane and I will attend to her," she said. Tommy pouted and strolled over...