THE RESCUE.
“Can you lift her up a little, Billy?” he asked in a low voice.
“I’m afraid to,” Billy whispered brokenly. “If I move, I’ll—I’ll lose
my—grip.”
“Drop, then! Drop into the water, both of you!”
“Don’t dare—she can’t swim—current’s too swift. Guess I’ll have to,
though, or else——” He felt the girl’s arms loosen. “Hang on to me!” he
said sternly.
“No, no!” cried the girl. “Let me go! I’ll try—try to swim. And you can
drop after me and—and—pull me out! Let me go!”
“Wait!” shouted Alec. “Can you hold on a minute longer, Billy? There’s
someone coming!”
Then came the sound of someone running over the ties, and Alec gave a
little gasp of relief.
“Is that you, Chet?” he asked, without looking up or turning his head.
“Engineer,” answered a gruff but tremulous voice. “Here, let me help
you.”
“Take hold of my feet, then,” Alec replied. “Lower me down another six
inches so that I can reach them. Quick, now!”
The man obeyed promptly. While he was speaking, Alec had slackened his
hold with his legs, and the engineer lost not a minute in catching his
ankles in a firm grip. The next moment Alec held the girl in his arms,
and he managed, by a great effort, to pass her to Chester, who had just
run up to help.
“Now, catch hold again,” he said to the engineer as he leaned over the
edge once more. “Get a good grip this time; Billy’s no lightweight.”
“Hi! what are you going to do?” yelled Chester, dropping down beside
him. “Alec, let me take a turn! I can pull Billy up if——”
“Never mind me; I can climb up alone,” called Billy in a faint voice
from under the track. And he swung sidewise until he could brace his
feet against a cross-pile.
Slowly, with aching muscles, he drew his body upward; inch by inch he
climbed, grasping the projecting ends of the ties. The strain on his
tired arms was tremendous, his shoulders felt numb, his hands clutched
wildly—slipped—and with a gasp, he lost his hold, and fell down, down,
into the flowing tide.
A tremendous splash sent a shower of spray up into the faces of his
friends. Blinking, they saw him sink, saw the clear green water close
over his head, and after waiting breathlessly for several minutes, saw
him bob up to the surface and strike out for the nearest point of land.
They knew he could swim like a seal, but they feared that, weakened by
the strain he had just undergone, he might fail to make any headway
against the current. As it was, they saw that he would be swept beyond
the point toward which he was struggling into a broader space of open
water that looked very dark and deep.
Chester was just about to fling off his coat and shoes on an impulse to
dive to the assistance of his friend, when he was checked by an outcry
from the girl. Plucky and alert, she had quickly recovered her presence
of mind, and now she ran along past the engine to the end of the bridge,
calling:
“Carlo! Here, Carlo! Come here, boy!”
A deep-throated bark greeted her, and her companion and protector, the
big dog, dashed to meet her, wagging his tail and showing every sign of
canine joy at seeing her again. But without pausing to respond to his
enthusiasm, she sped along the shore of the inlet until she came
opposite where Billy was now floating with the tide, wisely resting
before he continued his exertions.
Pointing toward him, the girl urged Carlo into the water. “Get him,
Carlo, good boy! Go on! Go on! Get him!”
And the faithful animal seemed to understand at once what was required;
at any rate, he plunged boldly into the water and paddled out straight
as an arrow toward Billy.
Giving a cheer, Alec and Chester, followed by the trainman, ran over to
the spot where the girl was standing. Meanwhile, Carlo had come abreast
of the swimmer, who, seeing him, had turned over and was resuming his
strokes. Billy was too tired to disdain the noble dog’s assistance, so
he put out one hand and grasped Carlo’s collar. Using his other arm and
his legs, he helped the big dog to tow him back to the embankment.
It was slow work, and the tidal current was merciless, but at last they
reached shallower water where Billy could touch bottom. Releasing the
dog, he waded to the shore and threw himself on the coarse grass.
“Billy, old scout, you’re a hero!” exclaimed Alec, bending over his
breathless comrade.
“You bet he is, boys!” agreed the engineer. “Anything pluckier or cooler
than the way he dropped over the side of the trestle, with the girl
hanging onto him for dear life,—when they thought they wouldn’t be able
to get ahead of the train,—I never saw in all my born days! And I’ve
seen a good many nervy stunts, too,—including your hand-me-up rescue of
the girl,” he added turning to Alec, whose face, pale with anxiety,
flushed crimson at these words of praise.
“Are you all right, Billy Wolf?” queried Chester, alarmed at Billy’s
silence.
“Yes, I’ll be—all right—in a few—minutes,” panted Billy, raising his
head. As he did so, his gaze met that of the girl, and he saw that her
dark blue eyes were filled with tears. “Oh, there you are!” he observed,
smiling. “Not hurt, are you?”
“Not at all, thanks to you!” she answered, a little sob in her voice.
“I—I tried to thank your friend, a few minutes ago, but I haven’t
thanked you for saving——”
“Oh, that’s all right!” interposed Billy. “We’re only too glad that we
happened to come along in time. Aren’t we, Alec?”
“Of course we are!” assented the other rescuer warmly. He patted Carlo’s
fine head. “He’s a great old dog, isn’t he? Whew! Stop shaking water all
over us, Carlo! Can’t you see Billy is wet enough already?”
“Down, Carlo!” commanded the young girl.
Carlo bounded away, barking joyously.
Billy stood up, dripping wet and shivering slightly, in spite of the
warm afternoon sunlight. His hair was matted with sticky salt water, his
clothes were soiled with mud and sand, but he laughed as he shook
himself. Chester and Alec began to pat and thump him vigorously to
quicken circulation.
“Take a few sprints up and down the bank,” advised Chester. “You’re
chilled, Billy; your teeth are chattering.”
“Nonsense!” laughed Billy. “I’m all right.”
As if to prove this assertion, he began a wrestling match with Carlo,
who had come frisking up to him. But this sport was interrupted by the
departure of the engineer.
“Well, I must be getting up steam again,” said the man. “Good-by, all!”
After shaking hands all around, he walked rapidly back to his engine,
and soon the big freight was on its way again, the various trainmen
waving their hands in farewell.
“I must be on my way, too,” the girl said, breaking an awkward little
pause which followed the last echo of the vanishing train. “I was going
over to Santario, to see my father. He is the keeper of the Life Saving
Station at Red Key,” she explained. “His name is Anderson,—Peter
Anderson. Mine is Ruth.”
“We’re Boy Scouts,” replied Alec, feeling that some introduction was
due. “This chap is William Worth,—we call him Billy, for short,—this is
Chester Brownell, and I’m Alec Sands. We are on our way to Santario,
too; we left our machine over yonder. If you like, we’ll be glad to give
you a ride. Will you come? It’s getting late, the sun’s going down, and
you’ll never walk all the way to Santario before dusk. Better come with
us.”
His suggestion was offered in frank kindness and Ruth Anderson was quick
to appreciate it.
“It’s very good of you to invite me,” she said. “Thank you very much!
I’d love a ride. You see, I’ve never been in an automobile. I’ve been in
a lifeboat, though; but that’s not exciting,—unless there’s a storm!”
“That’s something we’ve never done—gone out in a lifeboat,” Chester
remarked. “I visited a station on the coast of Maine two summers ago,
but I didn’t see the crew at work.”
“I’ve never even seen a Life Saving Station,” said Billy.
“I have it—a great idea!” exclaimed Alec. “Some day, soon after Hugh
gets here, we’ll motor down to Red Key and——”
Ruth interrupted him with a silvery laugh. “Oh, that will be fine!” she
cried gaily. “Dad will be so glad to see you-all and to thank you for
all you’ve done for me to-day. And I’m sure you’ll like the crew over at
Red Key; they’re the nicest, kindest, bravest fellows in the world! And
they’ll like you, too; I know they will!”