CHAPTER XIX
THE GOOD OF THE ILL WIND
Mabel waked up just as Jane triumphantly rode her last wave and wascast up on the sand still holding on to her unconscious burden.
Lorna's friends, shrieking and crying, threw themselves on her wailingand moaning:
"She is dead! She is dead!"
"Give her to me!" sternly demanded her stricken father.
Jane was completely exhausted and lay for a moment with her eyesclosed while the crowd of holiday makers closed in around her,praising her and lauding her to the skies. But Jane's work was notover. As soon as she could pull herself together she was on her feetand, pushing her way unceremoniously through the crowd, she caught Mr.Breckenridge by the arm where he stood clasping his Lorna to hisbroken heart.
"Don't listen to them! She is not dead! Give her to me. Give her here,I say! Mabel!" she called, "come and help me."
Mabel was there in a moment.
"Push the crowd back and come give first aid to the drowning. You knowhow." Jane spoke authoritatively and Mabel took matters into her ownhands. Lorna's friends were the hardest to manage as they insistedupon hanging over her and covering her with kisses.
"You are killing her!" Jane spoke sternly. "Mr. Breckenridge, if youcan't make these people stop, I'll not answer for your daughter'slife."
And now Mr. Breckenridge took matters into his own hands and pushedaway the curious ones who would crowd in and with no gentle handpulled the well-meaning if ill-advised friends away from his daughter.
Then Mabel began the process of bringing to life the seemingly dead.Many times had she practiced this stunt in classes until she knew howto do it better than any one of the group of Camp Fire Girls.
"That fat girl will mash her," wailed one of the friends.
"I may be fat but I'm no fool," retorted Mabel, who had placed Lornaon her face with arms above her head and face turned to one side. Thenshe had seated herself astride the prostrate body and with clever andstrong hands manipulated her lungs. At first it seemed hopeless. Thefriends still wailed and it took all of Jane's strength, and stubborndetermination, combined with Mr. Breckenridge's, to hold them backfrom what they thought was their dead darling.
"She has just swallowed a lot of water," Jane comforted the strickenfather. "She wasn't under water long enough to be drowned. Her heartis all right, isn't it?"
"As right as a trivet, my dear."
His "my dear" gave Jane a little thrill.
"She needs all the air she can get and the more people crowd aroundher the harder it will be for her," she said to the father, and toherself she wailed: "Where, where is Breck?" and she prayed: "Oh, God,send Breck."
And Breck came at that moment. Laden with food and with the rest ofthe Boojummers Charlie and Breck had started back to the spot wherethey had left the girls. From afar off they saw the crowd and began torun. Suppose something had happened to Jane or Mabel. Breck rememberedwith thanksgiving that Jane had promised not to go in the water againuntil he got back.
"Good old Jane wouldn't break her word for a million," he said tohimself as he raced to see what was the matter anyhow.
Towering above the crowd he saw the head of his own father andsomething in his face told him there was tragedy in the air.
Breaking through the crowd to the space kept open by the exertions ofJane and Mr. Breckenridge, the son caught his father by the hand.
"Father!" he cried.
"Allen! My son! Look, your sister! She is drowned."
"No, she is not," put in Jane reassuringly. "See, her breath is comingback!" and sure enough as Mabel pressed upon the lungs and thenremoved the pressure a sign of animation could be discerned in theprostrate body. The shoulders heaved slightly and there was aquivering of the long lashes that rested on the marble cheek.
Mabel began to sob.
"Let me take your place, Mabel, please," suggested Jane.
"Never!" cried Mabel. "I'm just sobbing because I'm so happy. She'strying to breathe."
"She's going to live," Jane whispered to Breck.
"I've always wanted to bring somebody back ever since the time it wasMiss Min's riding skirt and not Miss Min that got drowned," continuedMabel, still pressing gently but firmly on Lorna's lungs and thenreleasing the pressure.
"I believe, little sister, you tried to take in the whole ocean," saidBreck, kneeling by Lorna's side and taking her hand in his after itwas all over and she had come back to consciousness.
"Oh, Allen! And we have found you at last. We have been searching upand down the coast for days and days," she whispered faintly. "Fatherdidn't know I understood what he was doing, but he couldn't fool me.He has been as restless as a caged lion. He was sure he would find youat Nantucket Town and when you weren't there he sailed away, but onlywent around the island and put in again this morning."
This was in such a low tone that nobody except Breck heard it, butJane noticed that there were tears in his eyes when he got to his feetand again grasped the hand of his father.
"Father, I want you to know my friends. This is Mr. Wing. I shipped ascommon seaman on his yacht, the 'Boojum,' but, by a stroke of goodfortune, I am now--er--eating at the captain's table."
Breck went down the line introducing his friends, but with an unwontedshyness saved Jane until the last. Jane stood by looking on andblushing in spite of herself. Her bathing cap that the waves hadspared had been lost in the scuffle with the crowd and the importunatefriends and her wealth of blue-black hair had fallen about hershoulders, making her look very handsome. Mr. Breckenridge looked atthe girl keenly as his son at last turned to her. He took her brownhand in both of his and said:
"Somehow I don't need to be introduced to this young lady. I know heralready, all but her name. I know she risked her life for a perfectstranger and I know she has more grit than any man on the beach, asmuch grit as any man I have ever known."
He leant over and kissed her hand. "I can never repay you, my dear,whatever your name is. There is no way to repay you."
"Yes there is, sir," said Jane blushing furiously but smiling bravely."You can give your son and me your blessing, because we are thinkingabout getting married."
It was a good thing the crowd had dispersed and gone back to the saferbeach, because crowd or no crowd Breck put his arm around his dearJane and kissed her again and again.
Then Charlie felt he should kiss Mabel because she had done such goodwork in resuscitating the drowned. And Mr. Breckenridge thanked herall over again for her wonderful skill.
"Where did you learn how to do it?" he asked.
"Part of being a Camp Fire Girl," declared Mabel. "Camp Fire Girls arejust hanging around longing for emergencies to occur so they can getmore beads. You needn't be grateful to me for resuscitating yourdaughter. I have been praying for such a chance for ever so long."
Everybody laughed at Mabel, who usually put her foot in it and nevercould get out a long word without mixing it up.
"And you are a Camp Fire Girl too?" Mr. Breckenridge asked Jane.
"Oh yes, and it was being one that made me able to save Lorna. You seewe practice saving people. Mabel doesn't mean we want things to happenbut that we want to be near by and able to help if things do happen."
"I see," he smiled.
"Well, I'm mighty hungry," put in the irrepressible Mabel.
"Here are the eats," whispered Charlie. "Hot-dog sandwiches and longgreen pickles and ginger ale, but you have to drink out of thebottles."
Jane and Mabel could not help being amused to see the elegant personswho had been so superior not half an hour before and too refined evento bathe in the ocean with the common herd actually sitting down onthe beach with them, whom they had so ignored, and sharing the crudeluncheon with ill-concealed gusto.
"Excitement always makes me hungry," sighed Mabel to one of thechinless youths who was daintily munching a long dill pickle.
As for Lorna's flattering friends, they watched to see what she woulddo and then did likewise even t
o the extent of a vulgar hot-dogsandwich.
"I don't know whether it is good for anyone who has been so neardrowning to eat such food, but I guess you can try it, little Sister,"laughed Breck.
The warm sun quickly dried the wet suits. Color came back into the wanfaces and laughter was on the lips that had so recently uttered onlymoans. It was a merry party. No one could be stiff and elegant verylong with the Boojummers headed by the amusing and altogether naturalMabel.
Breck watched with pleasure his sister's interest in Jane. Hisfather's eyes were never off his son's fiancee and in them it wasplain to read supreme satisfaction and approval.
And is this not a very good place to leave our Camp Fire Girls? Theyhave had a wonderful summer trying to live up to the principles taughtby their organization. Some of the beads they have won will not showon their strings but will be what Mabel called "character beads."
Mr. Breckenridge saw to it that the two young women who saved hisdaughter's life should have something more tangible than just"character beads." When they got back to New York, they had hardlyreached their hotel, when each received a package by specialmessenger. Each box contained a priceless string of pearls, with Mr.Breckenridge's card, on which was written.
Some Camp Fire Beads For A Brave Girl
"Have you told your father about Hurricane Island yet?" Jane askedBreck.
"Yes, and he merely wanted to know if you approved and was mightydisappointed to hear most of the stock was bid for already. I guesswe'll have to let the Governor in on it for a little." And Jane smileda happy assent.
THE END
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