RUTH’S ADVENTURE
When the sun poured into the cabin the following morning, and Ruth was
awakened by the happy laughter of her companions, the incident of the
night before seemed like a dream. If she had been a nervous or timid
girl the others would have had occasion to attribute her story to an
over-wrought imagination; but Ruth was the last girl in the world to be
frightened without a cause. Besides, Doris and Edith had testified to
the presence of the ghost, and everybody--even Miss Phillips had heard
the unearthly sound.
The girls breakfasted out of doors; the day was lovely and warm, and
they all felt rested and happy.
“After everything has been put in order,” said Miss Phillips, as she
finished her coffee, “we are going to have a simple little service over
in that spot under the trees. Then, after that, all of you who want to,
can go in swimming.”
The girls prepared to go about their duties. “How shall we know when
it is time for service?” asked Ethel.
“I do so wish we had a bugler to blow church-call, and all the other
calls for that matter, too,” said Miss Phillips. “But maybe Pansy troop
will have one by next year! In the meanwhile, I’ll have to use the
whistle signals. So listen for a succession of short whistles.”
The religious service held on that Sunday in June by the little band
of Girl Scouts in the silence of the woods was simple in form, but
probably out-ranked many a more pretentious one in sincerity and
earnestness. Miss Phillips, with her clear voice, led in the singing of
several familiar hymns, and the girls recited the first Psalm together.
With the exception of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayers were silent ones,
but the girls felt deeply moved; and after it was all over, several of
them told the Captain that it was the most impressive service they had
ever attended.
Everybody except the Captain, and Ethel and Ada, who were cooks,
decided to go swimming. It was almost noon when they gathered in front
of the cabin, dressed in their swimming suits, covered by sweaters or
raincoats.
“It’s rather late,” said Miss Phillips. “Don’t go too far.”
“What time is dinner?” asked Doris.
“Half-past one,” replied Ethel; “and if anybody is more than five
minutes late, she doesn’t get any!”
The girls ran off in high spirits. Ruth was the first to plunge into
the creek. “It _is_ cold,” she admitted to Doris, who was sitting on
the bank dipping one toe in at a time.
Ruth began to swim rapidly in order to get warm. “I’m going around the
bend,” she called as she disappeared from view.
The other girls turned their attention to “getting wet all over,” and
dismissed Ruth from their minds. She was undoubtedly the best swimmer
of the party, so even when she failed to appear after many minutes had
passed, no one expressed concern.
After Ruth had passed the bend, and felt thoroughly warmed by the
exercise, she decided to swim farther. It would be such fun to go all
the way to the dam. Of course there was no chance of seeing John Hadley
or any other of the scouts, since Mr. Remington had taken them all on
the excursion; but she would have the satisfaction of telling them
later of her feat. She began to wonder how far the dam was. She did
not feel in the least tired, for she was swimming downstream. It would
be an easy matter to run along the shore back to the cabin--and if she
should be late for dinner, Ethel’s admiration for her act would surely
cause her to pardon the delay.
As she neared the dam, she distinguished two figures walking side by
side, and she wondered whether they would see her; she dipped her head
into the water, using the crawl stroke, which was the most spectacular
one she knew. When she brought her head out a second time, one of the
figures had vanished; the other person was alone: it was a girl. Yes,
and she was watching her!
The persons that Ruth saw, but did not recognize because of the
distance, were Jack and Marjorie Wilkinson. Jack had not gone on
the Boy Scout outing, for his father and mother, who were visiting
relatives living not far from the Academy, telegraphed to him on Friday
that they would get Marjorie and drive over to his school to spend
Sunday with him; so he had obtained permission to remain there for the
week-end, instead of accompanying the rest of the scouts.
Marjorie was delighted at the prospect of the visit. She had been
looking forward to a dull Sunday; Lily had gone home with Lucy Graham,
and most of her other friends were at the cabin. She was glad to see
her parents again, and the day was so lovely that she enjoyed every
minute of the ride.
When they arrived at the Academy, Mr. Wilkinson announced his
intention of looking up one of the teachers who was an old friend of
the family. “You can do whatever you like for an hour,” he said to
Jack and Marjorie; “either come with your mother and me, or go off by
yourselves.”
Jack looked at Marjorie doubtfully, as if he had no desire to spend
a whole hour cooped up with his English teacher when it was not
necessary. So he suggested an alternative to his sister.
“How would you like to see our swimming-hole?” he asked.
“Fine!” answered Marjorie. “It’s too nice a day to be inside. Besides,
I’m tired of sitting still.”
They took the path back of the school which led down to the creek, and
in less than five minutes they reached the dam.
It was on the upper side of the dam that the stream was widest, both
banks sweeping out and almost meeting again at the waterfall in a
horseshoe curve, which gave it the appearance of a lake. Trees grew
to the water’s edge, their branches mirrored with a gentle shimmering
reflection in the quiet water along the shore. Farther out, toward the
middle, the current was swift; it seemed to gather force as it rushed
foaming over the dam to the rocks below. Marjorie went into ecstacies,
impressed by the beauty of the spot.
“I wish I could paint it,” she said. “Wouldn’t it be lovely?”
“I tell you what I will do,” said her brother, after he had thought for
a minute or two; “I’ll take a picture of it!”
“What with?”
“My camera’s up in my room, and I’ve got two exposures left on the
film. If you’ll wait here, I’ll run back and get it.”
As soon as he was gone, Marjorie sat down on a stone, and gazed idly
into the water. She watched the water-bugs gliding over the smooth
surface, and wondered how deep it was at this spot, and whether it was
still cold. Jack had told her that the boys had already gone swimming
here; but then, boys would try anything!
For a minute she watched the water falling over the dam, and noted the
swiftness of the current; she turned her head in the other direction,
and caught a glimpse of the swimmer, rapidly approaching her. As the
latter came nearer, Marjorie identified her as a girl by the blue
rubber cap she wore on her head. When she was only a dozen yards away,
but still unrecognizable from the fact that her face was usually under
the water, Marjorie saw her suddenly raise an arm and wave in her
direction, choke, and finally go under. She came up, and went down a
second time before Marjorie saw that it was Ruth, and realized that she
must have been seized with a cramp, and was unable to resist the force
of the current.
The frightened girl cast a wild glance back toward the school. “Jack,
oh, Jack!” she shrieked, as loud as she could; but she got no answer.
In a panic she turned again toward the water. Ruth had come up again,
but Marjorie could see by her face that she was unconscious. Already,
the current had carried her several yards further down towards the dam.
There was not a moment to be lost; if Ruth went down the third time, it
would be too late. Kicking off her pumps, she plunged into the water,
and struck out for her friend.
Although Marjorie had been swimming in the pool almost every day for
the past three months, the water gave her a shock. It was still much
colder than that to which she had been accustomed, and the weight
of her clothes dragged her down. Nevertheless, with only a few bold
strokes, she reached the unconscious girl.
Breathing a sigh of thankfulness for Miss Phillips’s efficient
instruction in life-saving, she took hold of Ruth and made for the
shore. Her burden seemed heavy, but she did not have far to go; in
another minute she reached the shallow water, and carried Ruth to the
shore.
But her battle was only half over; she had only a vague idea of what to
do to revive her. She had heard Lily talk about learning the measures
of resuscitation at one of the scout meetings, but she had not gone
into detail. “Oh, if I were only a Girl Scout,” she groaned, “I’d know
what to do!”
She began to work Ruth’s arms back and forth in an aimless fashion,
which did not produce results. She looked around desperately for her
brother, and to her great relief, saw him coming along the path.
“Jack, Jack, hurry!” she screamed wildly. “Help!”
Jack ran as fast as he could, and in a moment stood beside her. He did
not ask for an explanation, but knelt over the prostrate girl and set
to work at once.
“Hold her tongue out,” he commanded, “to keep her from choking while I
get the water out of her! Now, then, young lady,” he said, addressing
the unconscious girl, “we’ll fix you up in no time.”
He worked tirelessly for ten minutes before he was rewarded by seeing
Ruth open her eyes. Consciousness slowly returned, but it was several
minutes before she realized where she was.
“Ruth!” said Marjorie tremulously, “are you all right?”
Ruth blinked two or three times, and looked from one to the other of
her companions.
“Speak, Ruth!” urged Marjorie.
“Marj!” said Ruth, with a puzzled air. “Yes, I’m all right, but----”
“Do you think you can sit up, Ruth?” asked Jack. “Then we’ll carry you
up to the school.”
“Yes, I guess so,” she answered; “but what has happened?”
Jack and Marjorie made a seat with their hands, and raised her from the
ground. Marjorie explained what had just taken place.
Ruth’s eyes suddenly lighted up. “I remember,” she said. “Oh, maybe I
wasn’t scared! I guess I got a cramp in my leg! I surely thought I was
going to die!”
“It must have been awful!” said Marjorie, with feeling. “I was scared
to death myself.”
They carried her to the matron of the infirmary who promised to get her
dry clothes and give her something hot to drink. Jack volunteered to
get the machine and take the news to the cabin, while Marjorie went in
search of her parents.
While Ruth was dressing, she reviewed the whole situation in her mind.
The experience had been ghastly--if dying was like that, she shuddered
at the prospect. And yet, she realized that one thing only had made it
terrible: in that short space of time, when she had seemed on the verge
of eternity, she thought only of her dishonest act toward Marjorie.
Everything else faded from her consciousness; that alone assumed
gigantic proportions: it seemed black, and terrifying. Even at this
moment, when safety was assured, she almost cried out at the terror of
her memory. “I will confess it all,” she exclaimed, “before I am a day
older!”
In a few moments Marjorie joined her, and invited her to go with the
family to the hotel for dinner.
“I will if you promise I can have a few minutes alone with you
afterwards, Marjorie,” she said. “I’ve got something I must confess!”
Marjorie smiled, thinking of the crocheting. “All right, Ruth, if you
like. But come now.”
When they were all seated in the machine, Ruth thanked both of her
rescuers profusely. “It certainly was brave of you,” she said.
“Brave of Marj--but not me,” protested Jack. “I was scared to death for
fear something would happen to you, after I played that awful trick on
you last night!”
“What trick?”
“The ghost at the cabin!”
“Oh!” gasped Ruth, in a tone that expressed volumes. “So it was you!”
Jack explained why he had remained home from the excursion. “And I was
sort of lonely last night--all the other scouts were away, you know; so
I decided to give you girls a scare. And I did especially want to get
_you_, because I knew you never were nervous and it wouldn’t upset you
like it would some girls.”
“I was scared, all right. But how did you ever make that awful noise? I
suppose a sheet was fixed up for the disguise?”
“Yes; and the noise was a violin. I heard Bill Mackintosh practicing
on his new violin on Saturday night, making the most unearthly sounds
you ever heard. That put the idea into my head. I went over and asked
him to go out with me to give the Girl Scouts a scare. Of course he was
tickled to death to go.
“We slipped away right after supper, and watched you through the
cabin-window. Maybe I wasn’t glad when I saw you were the one to go
after the water!”
“You horrid, mean thing!” said Ruth.
“I admit it. Punish me any way you like!”
But Ruth could not think of any return for his act. During the
rest of the ride, and all through dinner, her mind was on her own
affairs. Absently, she answered the questions that were put to her,
and entered but occasionally into the conversation. The rest of the
party attributed her mood to the experience through which she had just
passed, and left her alone with her thoughts.
They rode all afternoon, so that she had no opportunity to be alone
with Marjorie; but when the latter said that Lily would be away until
the next morning, she asked to be allowed to visit her right after
supper. “I have something I must tell you before I go to bed to-night!”
she added.
“All right,” said Marjorie. “But I wish you would forget it!”
“I wish I could,” said Ruth, as she left Marjorie to go to her room.