CHAPTER XXI
A NARROW ESCAPE
The next day dawned gloriously bright, and the girls chose to take it asa good omen. Following Betty's example, they stopped moping about andimagining the worst, and, although there was not a minute of the daywhen their hearts were not aching, they managed to smile when the otherswere looking and to speak hopefully of the future. Under Betty's gallantleadership, they had set up hope in their hearts and refused to givedespair a foothold.
"What do you say to a swim?" Mollie suggested, looking out over thesparkling white sand to the inviting water beyond. "We've only been inswimming twice since we've been here."
"That is a terrible record for Outdoor Girls," Betty agreed. She wasbustling busily about the cheerful kitchen making a tempting blueberrypie. There were circles under her eyes and she looked very pale forBetty, but her voice was bright and cheery.
"Can't you stop making pies for a few minutes?" asked Mollie, turningto look at her. "It's too nice outdoors to waste time in cooking."
"I imagine you wouldn't say that to-night," retorted Betty, fluting theedges of her pie crust. "I notice you generally like the results of mylabor."
"Who wouldn't?" returned Mollie. "I only know of one person who can makebetter pies."
"And that's yourself, of course." Betty made a little face at her andslipped the pie into the oven. "Just for that you can have only onepiece to-night!"
"I don't care, if you'll only stop working and come along," insistedMollie. "If I stay in the house much longer I'll start thinkingagain--and you know what that means."
Betty gave her a quick side-glance, hastily dusted the flour from herhands and took off her apron.
"I'm all ready," she announced. "Where are the other girls?"
"In the living room, reading and eating candy--or at least Grace isdoing the candy part. Amy has sworn off, you know."
The girls agreed eagerly to the proposed swim, and in a few minutes haddonned their suits and caps and pronounced themselves ready.
"I ought to get a letter from mother to-day," said Mollie, as her feetsank in the soft sand. "She said yesterday that the detectives hadpicked up a clue and thought they were on the right trail at last."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Betty demanded.
"Oh, I don't know," Mollie replied wearily. "I didn't think there wasany use telling you until I had something really definite. You know thechief business of a detective is nosing out false clues," she finishedscornfully.
"Well, I know once we met a perfectly capable detective," remarkedBetty. By this time they had reached the water and she put one toe intoit experimentally.
"Ouch--it's cold," she said.
"When did we meet a capable detective?" queried Mollie, lookinginterested.
"Just after we went to Camp Liberty when Will traced the German spy,"Betty reminded her. "Did you ever see prettier detective work in yourlife?"
"Yes, it was splendid," Mollie admitted, but the reference proved to bean unfortunate one. It brought back vividly the picture of Will as hehad been then, at the height of his triumph over the apprehension of thespy--in which the Outdoor Girls had also played an important part--andjubilant at the prospect of being able to join the colors at last andfight in the army of democracy.
Try as they would, they could not enter into the fun as they would havedone a few weeks before. They swam about languidly and found to theirsurprise that they became quickly and easily tired.
"I never knew before how much influence mind has over matter," saidMollie, after they had come out on the beach again. "I declare, even mymuscles feel depressed!"
"As Outdoor Girls we're getting to be marvelous failures," remarkedGrace, as she wrung the water from her skirt and plumped down in thesand. "I feel as weak as a rag."
"I guess it isn't much use trying to enjoy ourselves," sighed Bettyplaintively. "I've done my best, but all the time I feel as if I werejust trying to kid myself, in the vulgar vernacular."
"For goodness sake, don't you give up, Betty!" cried Grace, in alarm."If you get discouraged, then I don't know what we shall do."
"I'm not really discouraged--" Betty began, when a terrified cry cut hershort and the girls sprang to their feet bewildered.
"Where is it?" cried Mollie, but Betty caught her arm and pointed withshaking fingers to an orange-colored cap bobbing on the water severalhundred feet from shore.
"It's Amy!" she gasped. "Something must have happened. Come on, girls!Who's going with me?"
Without waiting for an answer, she was off like a shot with Mollie andGrace close behind.
They had not missed quiet little Amy, and if they had, would probablyhave thought she had gone for an unusually long swim. And now had comeher frantic cry for help.
"What is the matter?" Betty cried over and over to herself, as she putall her strength into the long, powerful strokes. Amy was a splendidswimmer, almost as good as Betty herself.
For one terrible moment the thought of sharks dashed into Betty's mindand she shuddered. But the next minute reason reasserted itself and sherealized that sharks had never been seen on this coast. Baby ones,perhaps, but not the man-eating variety.
She raised her head from the water and gazed in the direction of thevivid cap. Yes, there it was! Thank heaven there was still time.
"Amy! Amy!" she called, "I'm coming. Just hold on for a minute, Honey.I'm almost to you."
No answer came back to her, and when she looked again for the cap shefound to her horror that it was gone.
"Oh," she moaned, "I'm too late. I'm too late. Oh, Amy, Amy, justanother minute--just a little minute--" she redoubled her efforts andsuddenly gave a shout of joy.
There was the cap again, almost under her hand. In her frenzy of hasteshe had covered the distance with almost unbelievable speed.
Her shout seemed to rouse Amy, who had been struggling feebly to keepher head above the water, and the girl turned a terror-stricken face toher.
"Can you put a hand on my shoulder?" gasped Betty, beginning to feel thetremendous effort she had made. "Hang on to me, Honey, and we'll get outof this all right."
Amy clutched her shoulder, and slowly the Little Captain turned about,saving her strength for the long swim back. She could not be too longabout it either, she thought desperately. Amy was almost exhausted andhad all she could do to keep her head above the water.
It all depended on her, Betty. If she could get to shore, carrying thedouble weight before Amy's strength left her and she gave up altogether,all well and good. But if she could not--she groaned and set herselfgrimly to her task.
She had covered about an eighth of the distance back when her heartleapt suddenly and she gave a sigh of relief. There were two otherbobbing caps on the water coming rapidly nearer--and those two capscould belong to nobody but Mollie and Grace.
TWO OTHER BOBBING CAPS WERE COMING RAPIDLY NEARER. _TheOutdoor Girls at Bluff Point._ _Page 193._]
That meant help--and, oh, she did need help! She was putting forth allher strength, but to her agonized fancy she was not going forward atall. Amy's almost dead weight dragging at her shoulder seemed anightmare. Yet she dreaded beyond anything else to be relieved of theweight for that would mean--. She refused to put the awful thought intowords, merely driving herself on more desperately. And all the time shewas gasping out words of hope and courage to the poor girl shesupported.
Amy seemed beyond words, for she made no answer, merely clutchingBetty's shoulder more tightly and holding on with a grimness born ofterror.
Then just as the gallant Little Captain felt her strength going and knewshe could not hold out much longer, Mollie came abreast of her withGrace a few feet behind.
Mollie shook the water from her eyes, gave one glance at Betty's face,then gave peremptory orders.
"Give her to me, Betty," she directed. "I guess you're about all in.That's it, Amy; grasp my shoulder with your other hand. Get a good gripbefore you let go of Betty. That's the way. Now we're all right. Betweenus we'll have
you in in a jiffy. All right, Betty? Do you need helpyourself?"
But Betty shook her head, her long steady strokes keeping her even withMollie. In a moment Grace came up to them and directed Amy to put herfree hand on her shoulder, and in this fashion they finally reachedshallow water.
They found that they were not a moment too soon, for as they got totheir feet and stooped to lift Amy, they found that she had fainted.
"Thank heaven that didn't happen out there," cried Betty, with ashuddering glance out over the treacherous water.
Between them, fatigued though they were with the ordeal they had justgone through, they got Amy to the shore and began to work over her.
It did not take very long to bring her back to consciousness, for Amyhad a wonderful constitution and strong vitality. However, it seemedages to the anxious girls who worked over her, and when at last sheopened her eyes they were ready to cry with relief.
"H-how do you feel?" asked Betty tremulously, for she was beginning tofeel the reaction. "Are you all right?"
"Don't try to get up," commanded Mollie, as Amy tried weakly to raiseherself on her elbow.
"Just lie still and you'll feel better in a minute," Grace added, whileAmy looked from one to the other of them with wide, bewildered eyes.
"What happened," she asked, then, as memory came sweeping back to her,she gave a little cry and covered her eyes with her hand.
"Oh, girls," she cried, "I thought I was going to die!"
"Yes, yes, we know," said Betty soothingly, as though she were talkingto a little child, "but you're all right now, dear."
"Don't try to tell us about it unless you want to," added Mollie.
"I swam out farther than I meant to," Amy went on, as though they hadnot spoken. "And when I tried to get back I found that something waswrong with my right leg." She was shivering with exhaustion and thememory of the awful experience she had gone through, but when the girlstried to stop her she would not listen and hurried on feverishly.
"It was a cramp I guess, and the harder I tried to get rid of it theworse it got till finally I got panic-stricken. I called to you girls,but you didn't seem to hear me. Then--" she paused, and the girls heldtheir breath as she looked around at them. "Then--I went down. I came upagain and called, and--and--I saw you, Betty. Oh, it was terrible!"
"Then," cried Betty, her voice trembling, "when you went down that lasttime--"
"I didn't go down," Amy contradicted her. "I struggled so hard that Isucceeded in getting my head above water and--that was when you reachedme--Betty--"
"Thank Heaven," said Betty, with a little sob, "that I was there!"