A DESPERATE STRUGGLE
As the motorboat settled into the lake, Nancy Drew leaped clear and
began to tread water. Her first thought was for her chum. What had
become of her?
Nancy Drew was an excellent swimmer. But, as Nancy knew, Helen Corning
was barely able to keep herself afloat in a quiet pool. With crushing,
smothering waves bearing down upon her, she would be helpless.
Frantically, Nancy glanced about. She heard no cry, but several yards
away she thought she saw a white hand above the water. With powerful
crawl strokes, she plowed through the waves toward the spot. The hand
had vanished.
Bending at the waist and then suddenly straightening her body, Nancy
shot down in a surface-dive. With eyes open, she groped about under
water. At last she was forced to the surface, gasping for breath.
“Oh, I must find her!” she thought desperately. “I can’t let her drown!”
Then only a few feet ahead, she saw her chum struggling. In her fright,
Helen had forgotten what little she knew about swimming, and was
thrashing madly about.
One powerful stroke brought Nancy directly behind her chum. Reaching out
an arm, she hooked Helen under the chin, and with her free hand,
elevated her body to the surface of the water. A huge wave bore down
upon the girls, and before Nancy could secure a safe hold, Helen
strangled and began to struggle. She clutched Nancy about the neck.
“Let go!” Nancy cried. “Let go!”
Helen, too frightened to realize what she was doing, only clung the
tighter, carrying the two girls beneath the surface of the water.
At first panic took possession of Nancy Drew as she realized that Helen
held her in a strangle hold. Then her mind cleared and she thought
logically again. She had studied life-saving methods, and had been told
how to break strangle holds. If only it would work now!
In a desperate attempt to free herself, she pushed with her hands
against the side of her chum’s face, at the same time attempting to
raise one of the arms which imprisoned her. As she felt Helen’s grip
relax, she quickly ducked under the raised arm and came to the surface
of the water directly behind her chum. Before Helen could clutch her
again, Nancy snapped her into position for a safe carry.
“Don’t struggle or we’ll both drown,” she warned Helen.
Feeling that she was safe, Helen relaxed somewhat. But scarcely had
Nancy Drew begun to believe that she had her chum under control when a
huge wave swept over the two girls. Again Helen began to struggle and
fight. Although Nancy held her in a position from which she could not
free herself, the battle was a wearing one.
“Hold your breath when you see a wave coming,” Nancy instructed. “Don’t
be afraid. I won’t let loose of you.”
She knew that Helen would soon wear her out unless she overcame her fear
and remained quiet. Already Nancy was short of breath, and for a swimmer
far from shore that was a fatal warning. Yet never for a moment did she
consider abandoning Helen, although by doing so she might save her own
life.
Nancy Drew had no illusions concerning her situation. Excellent swimmer
though she was, she knew it would be impossible to tow Helen ashore.
Alone she might make it, but with her chum to consider, it was hopeless.
If only she could manage to keep Helen afloat until help reached them!
The motorboat had sunk beneath the waves, and the log which might have
given them temporary support had floated away in the darkness.
“Oh, if only that log would come in sight again!” thought Nancy.
As if in answer to her wish the log bobbed up at that instant, but
before Nancy could grab hold of it it went out of sight. She watched
eagerly, but it failed to reappear.
The exhausted girl’s heart sank within her.
“Help!” Nancy cried frantically.
With a sinking heart, she realized that her voice would not carry far.
She and her chum were at the mercy of the cruel waves.
In this moment when it seemed that there was no hope of rescue, it was
but natural that Nancy Drew’s thoughts should turn to her father. Would
she ever see him again?
For the most part, Nancy’s life had been an unusually happy one. Since
the death of her mother many years before, she had lived with her
father, Carson Drew, a noted lawyer engaged largely on mystery cases, in
the Middle Western city of River Heights which was forty miles from Moon
Lake. Aided by an elderly servant, Hannah Gruen, Nancy had taken over
the direction of the household.
Her life had been an exciting one, for she had always taken an interest
in her father’s mystery cases. Carson Drew was proud of his daughter and
openly boasted that she had a talent for unearthing mysteries and
solving baffling cases.
Certainly Nancy Drew never missed an opportunity for a thrilling
adventure. She had established herself as a clever detective by solving
the mystery of a queer old clock. Her adventures in this connection are
related in the first volume of the series, entitled, “The Secret of the
Old Clock.”
Later she had been involved in a rather weird mystery, one which carried
her to a haunted house, there to aid two sisters, Rosemary and Floretta
Turnbull. Nancy had discovered a hidden staircase, and it was through
her efforts that the “ghost” of the Turnbull Mansion was captured. Her
exciting adventures are recounted in the volume, “The Hidden Staircase.”
Nancy had refused to accept a reward for her service, but in each case
her friends had forced a token of remembrance upon her. Her trophies
consisted of a mantel clock and a valuable silver urn. Her father had
often declared that before she finished her career she would have the
house cluttered.
Now, as Nancy Drew struggled to support her chum in the rough waters of
Moon Lake, she wondered if her career was to come to a sudden end. How
long could she manage to keep afloat? Certainly not for many more
minutes.
Her heavy clothing dragged her down, her shoes seemed as heavy as chunks
of lead. If only she could let loose of Helen for a minute, she could
remove them.
“Can you float on your back for just a few minutes?” she asked.
“Oh, don’t let go of me, Nancy,” Helen pleaded. “I’m frightened to
death!”
“I won’t,” Nancy promised.
She intended to remain with her chum until the end. After all, it did
not greatly matter about the shoes, she told herself. Even were she rid
of them, it would only prolong her time a few minutes. She could not
hope to support Helen indefinitely. Each second dragged like an
eternity.
At frequent intervals Nancy shouted for help, although she believed she
was only wasting energy. Her breathing became increasingly difficult.
Helen Corning, who had gradually grown more calm, could not help but
know that Nancy’s strength was beginning to fail. For the first time she
realized the sacrifice her chum was making. Encumbered as she was, she
could never hope to reach shore.
“Save yourself,” she begged. “Go on without me.”
“Never!”
“You can reach shore alone, Nancy. If you try to save me, we’ll both
drown.”
Nancy Drew knew that Helen spoke the truth, but she did not relax her
hold. Nothing could force her to desert her chum. Each minute it seemed
to her that she could not take another stroke, and yet, by sheer force
of will, she managed to endure.
A huge wave bore down upon the two girls, smothering them in its
embrace. Feebly, Nancy struggled back to the surface with her burden.
“One more like that and I’ll be through,” she told herself.
Just then she thought she heard a noise above the roar of the wind. Was
it her imagination or had she really heard the splash of an oar?
“Help!” she screamed.
Was there really an answering cry or were her ears playing cruel tricks
upon her? Again Nancy raised her voice in a frantic cry. This time there
could be no mistake, for she distinguished the words.
“Hold on! I’m coming!”
Aid was coming at last! The thought gave Nancy Drew the courage to
endure for a few minutes longer.
“Where are you?” a shrill voice called.
“Here! Here!” Nancy cried desperately.
Through the blinding rain she caught a glimpse of a dark object. It was
a rowboat. If only she could hold out until it reached her!
As the rowboat approached, Nancy Drew fully expected to see it swamped.
It swept toward the two girls on the crest of a wave, and only by
dexterous use of the oars did the rescuer avoid crashing into them.
There was only one occupant in the boat—a girl, and her puny strength
availed but little against the wind and waves.
Twice she tried to bring the boat alongside the struggling girls, and
failed. The third time, as the craft swept past, Nancy lunged and caught
the side. She dragged Helen along, supporting her with one hand until
she, too, secured a hold.
“Be careful or you’ll upset the boat!” their rescuer shouted.
Nancy Drew was well aware of the danger, and she was at a loss to know
how to climb aboard. Unless the boat were perfectly balanced, it would
be certain to capsize at the first attempt the girls made to scramble
over the side.
Swimming around the boat, Nancy Drew took a position directly opposite
her chum.
“I’ll try to balance it while you get in,” she shouted.
As Helen attempted to scramble aboard Nancy threw her weight to the
opposite side. The craft wobbled uncertainly but did not upset. With the
aid of the girl at the oars, Helen managed to reach safety.
It was more difficult to get Nancy into the boat, but at last she was
dragged over the side. The deed accomplished, Helen collapsed on the
bottom.
Nancy resisted the temptation to drop down beside her chum, for one
quick glance at her rescuer assured her that the girl was nearly
exhausted from her labors. Apparently, it was all she could do to keep
the rowboat from being overturned. Tired as she was, Nancy Drew knew
that she could not rest until shore was reached.
“Give me the oars!” she ordered. “You rest for a minute or two.”
“I am about done up,” the girl admitted. “When I heard your cries, I
rowed out as fast as I could.”
Nancy dropped down upon the seat and snatched up the oars.
“We couldn’t have lasted much longer. You came just in time. But I won’t
try to thank you now. We’re still in grave danger. Which way to shore?”
With a wave of her hand, the girl indicated the direction. She seemed
too tired to speak.
Under Nancy Drew’s powerful strokes, the little boat plunged through the
water. By skillful use of her oars, Nancy avoided some of the waves, but
in spite of her efforts, the craft was battered about.
Each moment the wind increased in violence, hurling wild threats into
the ears of the three girls. Could they outride the storm?
As the little boat was buffeted this way and that, it seemed to Nancy
Drew that they were fighting a losing battle. The fear made her work
more frantically than before.