CHAPTER VIII
PLOTTING
With a turn of the steering wheel Bob sent the _Dartaway_ toward wherethe girls were making frantic efforts to reach their overturned craft.
"Slow down, Chunky!" called Jerry. "You stand by and Ned and I will getthe girls. Watch out you don't run us down. There, they've both sunk!We'll have to dive for 'em!"
Jerry had followed Ned's example in divesting himself of his heaviestclothing. The two boys stood on the gunwale of the motor boat, and, asthe craft slowly circled to where the girls had disappeared, guided byBob, Ned and Jerry leaped overboard.
As they sank beneath the surface Bob swung the _Dartaway_ in a halfcurve to avoid the possibility of striking the rescuers or the girls.He watched the surface of the water with anxious eyes as he made a bigcircle about the place.
Though it seemed several minutes it was only a few seconds beforeJerry came up. In one arm he held the unconscious form of a girl, andhe struck out for the _Dartaway_. Bob headed for him, taking care tosteer so that he could come broadside on. A few seconds later Nedappeared, but he had not found the second girl.
"I can't--find--her--" he gasped, blowing the water from his mouth."I'm going--down--again."
Jerry swam to the motor boat, and, still keeping the engine going, butthrowing out the clutch, Bob helped lift the unconscious girl over theside.
As she was placed on the cushions she opened her eyes.
"She's all right," said Jerry. "I'm going back to help Ned find theother one. Stand by, Bob."
Plunging over the side once more Jerry struck out for the swirlingeddies that indicated where Ned had gone down again in his search.
Ducking his head under the water, and opening his eyes, Jerry peereddown on the bottom of the river to see if he could discern where thebody was. He saw it in a tangle of weeds.
At the same instant Ned caught sight of it, and made another dive,having come to the surface to breathe. Ned was the first to reach thegirl. He brought her to the surface, though it was hard work, as shewas much heavier than her companion.
Between them Ned and Jerry swam with the girl to the motor boat, andlifted her over the side. Then they climbed in themselves.
"Now speed her up, Bob!" cried Jerry as he donned some of his clothes."We'll have to get to a doctor mighty quick with this last one. She'spretty far gone."
"Shall we head straight for shore?" he asked.
"No; down to that dock," replied Jerry, indicating one quite a distancedown the river, from which it was evident the girls had come in theirboat. There was quite a crowd on the wharf, and several small craftwere putting out toward the scene of the accident.
In a few minutes the _Dartaway_ was lying alongside the dock, andwilling hands helped the boys to lift the unconscious girl out, whilethe one Jerry had rescued assisted herself.
There was a scene of confusion. Scores of people demanded to know whathad happened, when, where and all the particulars.
"Look here!" exclaimed Jerry. "You can hear all about it later. Themain thing is to get this girl to a doctor and see if we can't save herlife."
"That's right!" exclaimed the proprietor of the boat pavilion. "Get outthe way there, you folks that are so anxious to know what's going on.Here's a doctor now."
A tall man, carrying a small valise, shouldered his way through thecrowd.
"Let me pass, I am a physician," he said.
Taking off his coat he began working over the unconscious girl. He wasassisted by several women, and in a few minutes the boys, who had beenlooking on, saw the maiden open her eyes.
"I guess she's all right," said Jerry. "Come on, let's get out of this.I don't want to answer a lot of questions. We've got a good chance toskip while the crowd is all in a bunch."
The boys, after talking the matter over as the boat sped away decidedthey would say nothing to their folks about the rescue.
"If we do they'll get all excited and think an accident happens everytime we take the boat out," said Jerry.
"Suppose they ask us what makes us so wet?" asked Ned.
"Well, we'll not lie about it, of course," said Jerry. "Only I hate tohave a fuss made."
There was no need to answer questions about their wet clothes. It wasdusk when the boys got back to Cresville, and they were able to getinto their homes unobserved.
But if they hoped to have the incident go unnoticed they were doomedto disappointment. Two days later, when they were preparing for a spinone afternoon, Andy Rush came leaping down to the dock, waving a paperaloft.
"So that's how you do it!" he exclaimed. "Brave rescuers--savelives--right on the job--dive under water--rush ashore--rush awayagain--say nothing--modest--but it's all found out!"
"What's the matter now, Andy?" asked Jerry.
"Nothing at all--everything--lots of things--look there!" and Andy heldout a copy of the copy of the Cresville weekly.
There, on the first page, under big headlines the boys saw an accountof their rescue of the two girls. The reporter had spared no language.It was a chance that seldom came to the little paper and it was madethe most of.
"Well if that isn't the limit," said Ned. "I wonder they didn't wantpersonal interviews with us, and all our pictures, besides a story ofour experiences under water."
"Say, you're heroes all right--all right!" exclaimed Andy. "Everybodyin Cresville is talking about it. The paper is selling like hotcakes--million copies--all talking about you--Gee Whiz! I wish I wasyou fellers! You can get a job in a dime museum now!"
"Oh, dry up!" said Jerry in a good-natured voice. "Here, jump in Andyand we'll give you a ride. That will make you forget all about therescues and the hero business. Mind, if you ever refer to it again,you'll never go on another trip."
"I'll keep quiet, but it's bound to be talked about," said Andy.
They kept on up the river for several miles to a little summer resort,where there was an ice cream stand. Bob proposed they go ashore andhave something to eat.
The boys found seats in a quiet corner and were soon enjoying theirrefreshments. After the first plate of cream had vanished Bob proposedmore.
For some minutes past the boys had been hearing the low sound of voicesin the room back of them, where it seemed, were more chairs and tables.
At first the boys paid no attention to the conversation. But finally itgrew louder and they could hear two voices in dispute.
"If that isn't Noddy Nixon I'll eat my hat," said Ned in a whisper."I'd know his voice anywhere. But who's the other?"
"Let's see what it's all about?" suggested Bob. "It isn't spying onthem. They are talking so loud they can't help being heard all over."
"Hush!" cautioned Jerry.
A second later there came to the ears of the boys these words:
"I've given you all the cash I can afford to. You must think I'm amillionaire, Bill."
"Pretty near it, I guess," was the answer in a low rumble. "All I knowis, I've got to have money."
"I tell you I'm broke," persisted the one whom the boys had decided wasNoddy. "I might allow you a little something if you helped me out."
"What is it now? Some more of your tricks on those motor boys?"
"Hush!" exclaimed Noddy. "Not so loud. Do you want to have the policeafter us? Now I'll tell you what I want you to do." His voice sunk to awhisper, but the walls were so thin that the boys could distinguish aword here and there.
"Motor boat--do 'em brown--fix 'em for me--I'll pay you well," weresome expressions overheard.
"I wonder if he's referring to us," said Jerry. "I'd like to hear alittle more of this."
The next words came more distinctly though the sentence was broken hereand there by intervening silences.
"Make it hot--pay you--have a good time soon," was what came to theirears.
"Well, it's a good thing to know this in advance, that is if it's usthey're referring to," said Ned. "We can be on the watch."
Having finished their cream, even Bob voting he had enough, the boysstarte
d to leave. As they walked past the room whence the voices hadcome, the door opened and two figures emerged. They were Bill Berry andNoddy Nixon.