A THRILLING EXPERIENCE
After that the days just fairly flew. Dolly changed her mind completely
and concluded that camp life was one of the jolliest things in the
world.
Talking things over with Dotty, she explained her lonesomeness and
homesickness that first night.
"Yes, I understand," and Dotty wagged her head sagaciously. "Most
everybody doesn't like camp at first and we didn't have any fun that
first night, but, you see, we all knew the fun was coming next days and
you didn't."
"It was partly that," said Dolly, honestly, "and partly 'cause I felt
that I _must_ see Mother. You see, I've never been away from her all
night before, and it was so queer sleeping outdoors, and I was sort of
cold, and--"
"I know! You were hungry! There's nothing makes anybody as homesick as
being hungry. Supper was skinny that night, I remember, and I was hungry
too, only I went to sleep and forgot all about it. Come on, Doll, let's
go over to the Norrises."
"All right," and having informed Mrs. Rose of their intention the two
girls set off for the Norris camp, which was but a short distance away.
To their disappointment, when they reached there, they learned that Mrs.
Norris had taken both Maisie and Jack to town with her to do some
shopping, and they would not be back before six o'clock.
It was Sarah, the nurse girl, who told them this, as she sat on the
verandah taking care of Gladys, the two-year-old Norris baby.
"Let's stay a few minutes and play with the kiddy," said Dolly, patting
the little fat hand of the smiling child.
"All right," agreed Dotty; "let's take her in the swing."
The two girls with Gladys between them sat in the wide porch swing and
Sarah said diffidently, "Would you two young ladies mind keeping the
baby for half an hour, while I run down the road a piece to see my
sister? She's awful sick."
"Go ahead, Sarah," said Dolly, good-naturedly. "We'll take care of
Gladys. She won't cry, will she?"
"That she won't. She's the best baby in the world. There's a couple of
crackers you can give her if she's hungry, or the cook will give you a
cup of milk for her. I won't be gone long."
"Don't stay more than half an hour, Sarah," said Dotty; "I'd just as
lieve keep the baby but I don't know as Mrs. Norris would like it to
have you go away from the child."
"Oh, pshaw!" said Dolly; "the baby is all right with us. Stay as long as
you want to, Sarah; I just love to take care of babies."
So Sarah went away and the two girls proceeded to give Gladys the time
of her life. They soon tired of the swing and took the baby out into the
woods, where they crowned her with leaves and called her Queen of the
May.
The child laughed and crowed, and as her language was limited she called
both the girls Doddy, and beamed on them both impartially. Herself she
called Daddy, being unable to achieve her own name.
"Two Doddies take Daddy saily-bye!" she cried, waving her fat hands
toward the lake.
"Oh, no," said Dolly; "Daddy go saily-bye when Jack comes home."
"No! no wait for Dak! Daddy 'ant to go saily _now_! Daddy go in boat!
Two Doddy go in boat and sail Daddy far, far away!" The two little arms
waved as if indicating a journey round the world, and the baby face
beamed so coaxingly that Dolly couldn't resist it.
"We'll go down to the shore," she said, "and Gladys can paddle her hands
in the water; that will be nice."
"Ess!" and the baby danced with glee as the three went down to the lake.
There was a short bit of fairly good beach at the Norrises' place, and
here the children sat down to play. A sail boat, a row boat and a canoe
were tied there and soon Gladys renewed her plea to go sailing.
The girls tried to divert her mind, for they were not willing to take
the responsibility of taking the little girl out on the water.
"Maybe we might take her out in the row boat," suggested Dotty, but
Dolly said, "No, I'd rather not. I can row well enough, but you can't do
much with your weak arm and suppose anything should happen to this
blessed child! No, siree, Dot; I'm not going to take any such risk."
"I think you're silly. We could row around near shore and it would
please the baby a heap. She's going to cry if you don't."
Dotty's prediction seemed in imminent danger of being fulfilled, but
Dolly sprang up and began a frolicking song and dance intended to divert
the baby's attention.
But for a few moments only Gladys was pleased with this entertainment.
With the persistency of her kind, she returned again and again to the
subject of her greatly desired water trip.
Still being denied, she set up a first class crying act. It scarcely
seemed possible that so many tears could come from those two blue eyes!
She didn't scream or howl, but she cried desperately, continuously, and
with heartbroken sobs until the two caretakers were filled with
consternation.
No effort to divert her was successful. In no game or play would she
show any interest, and as the little face grew red from the continued
sobbing, Dotty exclaimed, "That child will have a fit, if she doesn't
get what she wants! Now look here, Doll; we won't go in a boat, but
let's put the baby in the canoe and just pull her back and forth gently
by the rope. It's tied fast to the post."
Dolly looked doubtful, but as the baby sensed Dotty's words a heavenly
smile broke over her face and she exclaimed, "Ess, ess! Daddy go
saily-bye all aloney!"
Dolly still hesitated, but Dotty picked up the eager child and plumped
her down in the middle of the canoe, which was partly drawn up on the
shelving beach. A little push set it afloat and grasping the rope
firmly, Dotty gently pushed and pulled the canoe back and forth, while
the baby squealed with delight.
"That can't do any harm," said Dotty, pleased with the success of her
scheme, and Dolly agreed that Gladys was safe enough as long as she sat
still.
"Even if she should spill out, she'd only get wet," said Dotty; "the
water isn't six inches deep where she is. And you _will_ sit still,
won't you, baby?"
"Ess, Daddy sit still," and the baby folded her hands and sat motionless
in the canoe, only swaying slightly with the motion as Dotty slowly
pulled her in shore and then let her drift back again.
"It's like a new-fashioned cradle," said Dolly; "I'll hold the rope for
awhile, Dot."
"All right, take it; it hurts your hand a little after awhile."
So Dolly pulled the rope and the two girls sitting on the beach chatted
away while the baby floated back and forth.
"Let me take it now," said Dotty after a time; "you must be tired."
"No, I'm not a bit tired, and I can use two hands while you can use only
one. You oughtn't to use that left flapper of yours much while it's
weak, Dot."
"Pooh, it isn't weak! It's as strong as anything. Give me that rope!"
"No, sir, I won't do it," and there was a good-natured scuffle for the
possession of the rope as the four hands grabbed at it and each pair
tried to get the other pair off.
"Let go, you!" cried Dotty, pulling at Dolly's hands.
"Let go yourself!" Dolly replied, laughingly, and then,--they never knew
quite how it happened, but somehow their scramble had pulled the rope
loose from the post, and as they twisted each other's hands, the rope
slipped away from them and slid away under the water.
The lake was full of cross currents and even before they realised what
had happened the canoe was several feet from shore. To Gladys it seemed
like some new game and she clapped her hands and shouted in glee, "Daddy
saily all aloney,--far, far away!" She waved her baby arms and rocked
back and forth in joy.
Dotty and Dolly were for a moment paralysed with fright. Then Dotty,
grabbing Dolly's arm, said, "_Don't_ stand there like that! We must _do_
something! That baby will drown! Let's holler for help."
Dotty tried to scream, but her heart was beating so wildly and her
nerves pulsing so rapidly she could make scarcely any sound, and her
wail of agony died away in a whisper.
"I can't yell, either," said Dolly, hoarsely, as she trembled like a
leaf. "But we must _do_ something! _Don't_ go to pieces, Dotty--"
"Go to pieces nothing! You're going to faint yourself. Now stop it,
Dollyrinda," and Dotty gave her a shake. "We've got to save that child,
no matter how we do it!-- Sit still, baby, won't you?" she called to
Gladys.
But the child bounced about in her new-found freedom and grasping each
side of the canoe with her little hands began to rock it as hard as her
baby strength would allow.
"Oh!" breathed Dolly, who was watching with staring eyes; "sit still,
little Gladys; don't rock the boat, dearie."
"Ess; rock-a-by-baby, in a saily boat!" and again Gladys swayed the
little craft from side to side.
"We must make her stop that first of all," and Dotty wrung her hands as
she stepped down to the water's edge and even into the water as she
called to the baby. "Gladys, sit very still, and Doddy come out there in
another boat. Sit _very_ still."
Gladys did sit still, and the canoe floated steadily on the smooth lake.
But it drifted farther and farther from land and now about twenty feet
of water separated the baby from the shore.
"We've got to get in the row boat and go out there," said Dotty, who was
already untying the rope.
"Yes, it's the only thing to do," agreed Dolly; "but you can't row, Dot,
and I can. So I'll take the boat, and you run for help. I don't know
whether you'd better go to the Norrises; I don't think there's anybody
there but the cook, or whether you'd better make straight for home and
get your father to come."
"I'll do both! I can run, if I can't row!" and Dotty flew off like a
deer up the hill toward the Norris camp.
Dolly stepped into the boat and shipped the oars. It was a large
flat-bottomed boat and the oars were heavy. Dolly knew how to row but
she was not expert at it, and, too, she dreaded to turn around with her
back to the baby. "Though," she thought to herself, in an agony of
conflicting ideas, "I've got to row out there, and I can't do it and
keep watch of Gladys both."
She pulled a few strokes, twisting her head between each to get a
glimpse of the baby who was now sitting quietly in the canoe, drifting
out toward the middle of the lake.
Not a motor boat or craft of any kind that might lend assistance was in
sight. They were at the extreme upper end of the lake and most of the
camps were farther down. Vainly Dolly scanned the water for a boat of
any kind, but saw none. Bravely she pulled at the big oars, but she was
not an athletic girl, and having been laid up so long with a broken leg
her muscles were weak.
She pulled as hard as she could, in a straight line toward the canoe,
but though she succeeded in lessening the distance between them she
could not get very near the baby, for the canoe drifted steadily away.
At last, by almost superhuman efforts, she came within a few feet of the
child, and then fearing to bump into the canoe and upset it, she turned
around and tried to back water gently. But the big oars were ungainly
and the task was not easy.
Moreover, Gladys was overjoyed at seeing Dolly in the other boat and she
expressed her joy by leaning over the side of the canoe.
Dolly's heart seemed to stop beating as she saw the wobbly little boat
careen with the laughing baby leaning far over the edge. She knew she
must not alarm the child and so in a desperate endeavour to speak
naturally, she called out, "Sit up straight, baby; see how straight you
can sit!"
"So straight!" and Gladys emphasised her straightness by putting both
arms up in the air.
"Yes, dear. Now fold your arms and sit straight."
Gladys obeyed and folded her chubby arms and sat motionless right in the
middle of the canoe.
Dolly's heart bounded with thankfulness as with aching arms she pushed
her way nearer the drifting canoe. She was moving stern first and tried
to manoeuvre to try to come up sideways against the canoe. Then if she
could lift the baby safely into her own flat-bottomed boat she would be
content to drift about until help came.
How many times she tried! But just as her boat would near the other, a
chance current or a puff of wind would take the canoe just out of her
reach. Paddling now with one oar she came very near the unsteady little
craft, so near that Gladys suddenly decided to jump into Dolly's boat.
The child scrambled to her knees and leaned over the side of the canoe
till she was almost in the water.
"Sit down!" screamed Dolly frantically, forgetting the danger of
suddenness.
Gladys was startled and instead of sitting down leaned farther over the
edge, and the canoe capsized!
Dolly's face blanched, her oars dropped from her hands and every muscle
in her body went limp. Then the impulse came to jump in the water after
the child. Seizing the row-lock, she was about to plunge, blindly,
heedlessly, but obeying the irresistible impulse, when something white
appeared on the water, right at her very side. It was Gladys's white
dress, and Dolly made a grab for it just as it was again about to sink
from sight.
She held on firmly, though it seemed as if her strength was ebbing
rapidly away.
She strove with all her might to pull the baby into her own boat, but
she could not lift the heavy child over the edge. How glad she was now
that she was in the big flat-bottomed boat, which was in little if any
danger of upsetting.
Not knowing whether the baby was dead or alive, she hung on to the
precious burden, still trying to lift her over the edge, but unable to
do so. It was all she could do to keep her grasp on the wet clothing and
keep the child's head above water as the eddies tossed her boat around
on the rough surface of the lake. The waves were choppy and every time
she would nearly succeed in lifting the baby in, a sudden lurch would
almost make her lose her grip.
It was when at last she almost felt the little form slipping from her
grasp that she heard the chug-chug of a motor boat and a cheery, loud
voice sang out, "Hang on, Dolly; hang on! All right, we're coming!"
Dolly didn't dare look up, but with her last ounce of strength she hung
on to the baby's white dress, which she had already torn to ribbons in
her clutches. She heard the swift oncoming of the motor boat and feared
lest its waves might even yet wash the little form away that she held so
insecurely. She refused to lift her eyes as the sound of the engine grew
louder and she felt a sickening fear of the first waves that might reach
her from the motor boat.
To her dismay she felt her hold loosening. Her muscles were powerless
longer to stand the strain of the baby's weight. She heard the motor and
she felt, or imagined she did, the first of the rhythmic waves that
would, she felt certain, as they grew stronger, tear the child from her
grasp. In desperation she bunched up a portion of the little white dress
and leaning her head down clinched it firmly in her teeth.
But even as she did so, she knew she could not hold it there. The wet
cloth choked her, and the water dashed in her face and blinded her. A
sickening conviction came to her that it was all over and in another
instant little Gladys would fall away from her helpless hands, and
drown.
But to her ears there came a sound of a human voice. Not a shout, not
even a loud call, but a calm, pleasant voice close to her, that said:
"All right Dolly! Let go. You have saved Gladys!"
Mechanically obeying, though scarcely knowing what she did, Dolly opened
her teeth and as the baby slid from her numbed fingers the child was
grasped by strong arms, and Mr. Rose's face appeared to Dolly's view. He
had swum from the motor boat, and now holding Gladys in one arm he hung
on to the row boat with the other.
"Take her in," he said, as he lifted the child over the edge into the
boat.
The reaction brought back Dolly's lost nerve. Gladly she received the
little form in her arms and in another moment Mr. Rose had himself
scrambled, big and dripping, into the boat also.
"You little trump!" he exclaimed; "you brick! you heroine! Let me take
the baby. Why, she's all right!"
Gladys, though she had been partly unconscious, while in the water, was
really unharmed and as Mr. Rose held her to him she opened her eyes and
smiled.
Swiftly the motor boat came and took the three on board, and dragging
the row boat behind them, they made quickly for the shore.
"Well, I swan!" exclaimed Long Sam, who was at the wheel, "if you Dolly
ain't the rippenest little mortal! However you managed to keep a grip on
that there kid is more'n I can tell!"
"I'm sure I can't tell you," and Dolly smiled, out of sheer happiness at
Gladys' safety.
They reached the shore in a few moments and Mrs. Rose was there with a
big blanket in which to wrap the baby while they carried her up to the
house. Sarah the nurse was there, and soon Gladys, warmed and fed and
arrayed in dry clothes, was pronounced by all to be none the worse for
her thrilling experience.
Dolly, however, was exhausted. Mrs. Rose, after leaving the baby to the
nurse, hurried Dolly home and put her to bed.
"Yes, my dear," she said as Dolly objected; "you have an ordeal to go
through with as heroine of this occasion. When Mrs. Norris comes home,
she will come over here to give you a medal for bravery and heroism and
general life-saving attributes. So you must go to bed now and get rested
up to receive her thanks. You're going to have a cup of hot broth and a
good rest and perhaps a nap, and you'll wake up just as bright and happy
as ever."
And Mrs. Rose's treatment was just what Dolly needed. She slept an hour
or more and then awoke to find Dotty's black eyes gazing into her own.
"You beautiful, splendid Dollyrinda!" she exclaimed. "You're a Red Cross
heroine and a Legion of Honour Girl and I don't know what all!"
"Nonsense, Dot; I didn't do any more than you did. If you hadn't had the
gumption to run and get your father, Gladys would--well,--things would
have been different."
"It was all my fault, though," and the tears came into Dotty's eyes. "I
did the wrong in putting the baby in the canoe in the first place."
"I did that just as much as you did. We both did wrong there, I expect.
And we both did wrong in scrabbling over the rope. Oh, we did wrong all
right, but neither of us was worse than the other. What will Mrs. Norris
say to us?"
"She's here now," said Dotty, "waiting for you to come down. She doesn't
blame us, she blames Sarah for going away and leaving the baby."
"That isn't fair!" and Dolly sprang out of bed; "we told Sarah she could
go. Tie up my hair, please, Dotty, I want to go down and tell Mrs.
Norris all about it."
But as it turned out, Mrs. Norris was so glad and happy that little
Gladys was safe, that she wouldn't allow the two D's to be blamed at
all. And as the girls besought her not to blame the nurse, for what had
really been their doing, they all agreed to ignore the question of blame
and dwell only on their gladness and happiness at the safety of
everybody concerned.