The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea; Or, The Loss of The Lonesome Bar

by Janet Aldridge

  CHAPTER IX

  A SURPRISE THAT PROVED A SHOCK

  It could not have been very long, not more than a few seconds, beforeHarriet Burrell's benumbed senses began to perform their naturalfunctions. Deep down in her inner consciousness was the feeling that,though the surf was breaking over her, underneath her was somethingsolid, immovable. In a vague sort of way she wondered at this, but forthe time being was too weary and dulled to reason out the cause of thephenomenon.

  After a time the girl began to feel little pains shooting up her arms,reaching to her shoulders and down along her spine. Again was herwonderment aroused. Little by little her heavy eyelids struggled open.But her eyes saw only black darkness and water. Harriet, by a supremeforce of will, now began to reason the cause.

  "I am still in the water, but my hands and feet are on somethingsolid. What does it mean?" she thought.

  Turning her head slightly, she saw that which increased herwonderment. Tommy Thompson was sitting beside her, the little girl'shead leaning against Harriet. It struck Harriet as peculiar thatTommy was able to sit on the water with nearly half her body out ofthe water. Harriet then discovered that she was crouching on allfours. It was a peculiar position for her, too. She wondered, if ableto maintain that position, why she might not stand up just as well.

  "I can do it!" she screamed. "I can stand on the--" She paused. Tommyhad toppled over and lay on her side, partly covered with water."Land!" breathed Harriet. "We are on land, but there is water allabout us. I don't understand."

  Pondering over this for a moment, Harriet stooped and lifted Grace toa sitting posture. Her blood had begun to circulate and a warm glowwas suffusing her entire body.

  "Tommy, wake up! Wake up! It's land. We are on solid ground. Don't youunderstand?"

  "Breakfatht for fithh," muttered Tommy. Harriet shook her asvigorously as she could. It required no little effort to get Gracewide enough awake to understand what Harriet was saying, but after ashort time Tommy seemed to understand, understanding that finally cameto her with a shock almost equal to that that Harriet had felt.

  "We--we are on thhore?" she questioned.

  "Yes, yes. Let's get out of the water. Come, dear, I will supportyou." This she did, though Harriet staggered and was barely able tosupport herself. She slipped a cold arm about Grace's waist. "Makeyour feet go." The two girls stumbled forward, Tommy now having an armabout Harriet's waist, then with a scream from Tommy they stepped offinto deep water and went in all over.

  "Thave me, oh, thave me!" moaned Tommy as they came up.

  But the plunge had done them good. It had shaken both girls wide awakeand cleared their clouded minds. They once more had been awakened to arealization of their position.

  "It wathn't land at all! Let me go, let me die," insisted Tommy,struggling to free herself from Harriet's grasp.

  "It was a sand bar," explained Harriet. "Please behave yourself,Tommy. You must _do_ something. It is all I can do to take care ofmyself. Now, please, help me by helping yourself and we shall be ondry land in a few moments."

  Grace made several awkward attempts to swim, then gave it up.

  "I can't do it, Harriet. What ith the uthe of trying to thwim anymore?"

  "Don't you understand? We were on a sand bar. It was that that savedour lives after we were overcome. We should have drowned had it notbeen for the bar."

  "Yeth, but we are in deep water again," wailed Tommy.

  "Think, think! Don't be so stupid. We must be near the shore. I don'tbelieve there would be a shallow place like that one far out fromland."

  "Do you think tho?" Tommy's voice was weaker than before.

  "I am sure of it. Swim. That's a good girl."

  "I--I can't."

  "Then I will swim for you."

  Once more Harriet Burrell placed a hand under Grace and began swimmingwith her. The surf was behind them and was rapidly carrying them withit toward either the shore or the sea, Harriet neither knew northought which. Had she not been still half dazed she might havesmelled the vegetation on shore, not so very far from them, but ofthis she took no heed. She swam, summoning all her strength to thetask, knowing that she would not be able to keep up much longer. Thenall at once her hands touched bottom. A moment more and she lay fulllength upon the wet, sandy bottom with the waves breaking over her.Harriet groped with her hands and found that the water at arm'slength, ahead was but a few inches deep. She sprang up with, a weakcry.

  "Tommy, Tommy! We've made it."

  "Fithh," muttered Grace.

  Harriet grasped her by the arms and began backing toward shore,dragging her companion with her.

  The ground grew more and more solid as she backed. There could be nodoubt now. They were rapidly getting to dry land. Here, unlike thebeach fronting the camp, the ground sloped gradually up away from thesea, then extended off among the trees a level stretch for somedistance.

  Tommy struggled a little when Harriet raised her to her feet. Thelatter did not know which way camp lay from where they had landed, butshe decided that it must be to the right of them. In this surmiseHarriet was correct, but the camp was farther away than she hadthought. She staggered along, half leading, half carrying, hercompanion, until, exhausted by her efforts, she sank down, Tommy withher.

  "I can't go another step; I'm tired out," gasped Harriet.

  "Ye-t-h," agreed Grace weakly.

  The two girls toppled over and stretched out on the wet ground,clasped in each other's arms. They were almost instantly asleep. Tirednature could endure no more, and there they continued to lie andslumber through the remaining hours of the night.

  Break of day still found patrol parties running along the shore,alternately searching the beach and gazing out to sea. An occasionalboat was sighted far out, but that was all. No signs of the missingMeadow-Brook Girls had been found. Ever since the dawn, however, CrazyJane McCarthy had been taking account of the direction of the wind,which was blowing across the bay to the right of their camp. Shedecided to investigate that part of the coast on her own account,going far beyond the farthest point that had been reached by any ofthe patrols.

  Suddenly Crazy Jane uttered a yell that should have been heard at thecamp, but was not. She had discovered the girls lying on thebeach--still locked in each other's arms.

  Jane rushed to them, and, grabbing Tommy, began shaking her. Harrietraised her heavy eyelids, sat up and rubbed her eyes. Tommy tried tobrush Jane aside.

  "Fithh for breakfatht," she muttered.

  "Oh, Jane, is it really you?" stammered Harriet, trying to keep fromlying back and again going to sleep.

  "Oh, my stars, darlin's! And we thought all the time that you wereboth drowned. Don't tell me a thing now. I'll go right back and getsome of the girls to help me get you back to camp."

  "No, no; we can walk. There is nothing the matter with us except thatwe are tired out. Tommy, Tommy, wake up! It is morning and we are safeand dry. Think of it!"

  "I--I don't want to think. I want to go to thleep."

  Jane lifted and shook the little lisping girl until Tommy begged formercy, declaring that she would rather go to sleep than return tocamp. It required no little effort to get the girl to try to walk.Harriet herself would have much preferred going back to sleep, butafter a time, with their arms about Tommy, they managed to get herstarted, upon which they took up their weary trudge to the camp, morethan a mile away, stumbling along with Tommy, half asleep nearly everyminute of the time.

  It was almost an hour later when a great shout arose from the camp asthe girls were discovered slowly approaching. There was a wild rush tomeet them. Every girl in camp, including the guardians, joined in therush to welcome the returning Meadow-Brook Girls.