PINE ISLAND AT LAST
The Outdoor Girls and their boy friends made good time for the rest of
the journey and it was not quite sundown when they came in sight of the
beautiful shores of Lake Tarracusio.
"We will have to leave the automobiles somewhere in town, won't we?"
asked Amy, as the two machines drew up side by side for a final
consultation.
"Of course," said Grace. "According to Mollie's description of the
rickety old steamer I should think it would have all it could do to
carry us--let alone the machines."
"There ought to be at least one big garage in town, Frank," Betty
suggested. "Let's move along the main street until we find it."
"Nobody asks me for my advice," complained Mollie, in an injured tone.
"And I am the most likely one to know about it."
Mollie gave the directions for finding the garage which her aunt had
written. A minute later they drew up before the place and tumbled out,
bag and baggage, in obedience to Frank's instructions.
While the boys were in the garage talking to the proprietor, the girls
had a chance to look about them.
"Isn't it lovely?" cried Mollie delightedly. "It looks just like the
little colored pictures of towns they have in the magazines sometimes.
The same quaint little frame houses with green shutters and well-kept
lawns in front----"
"And flower beds with borders of white shells," Amy finished for her. "I
know just what you mean, Mollie; I've seen them myself."
"Girls," said Betty, jumping up from the overturned suitcase she was
using for a seat, and speaking impressively, "I have a feeling----" here
she paused for effect. "I have a feeling," she continued, "that we are
going to have a good time."
"Humph," snorted Mollie. "Why don't you tell us something we don't
know?"
"Get off the luggage, you girls!" Will commanded, good-naturedly. "The
man in there says we have just exactly five minutes to catch that joke
steamer for the island, and if he is right, we've got to hustle. Sling
over that bag, Sis, will you?"
"With the greatest of pleasure," said Grace. "But will somebody kindly
tell me how we are going to make that boat in five minutes?"
"By running like the very wind," Frank declared, and, picking up two
suitcases in one hand, he propelled Grace down the street with the
other. "Please hurry," he urged. "Never mind about your hats, girls. It
will soon be so dark nobody will be able to see them."
"Shall we give them a race?" asked Allen of Betty, as they prepared to
follow Roy, who had taken both Mollie and their gay little chaperon in
tow.
"Let's," said Betty with dancing eyes. "Nobody knows us here and I
wouldn't care if they did--better people than you and I have run for
boats before, Allen."
"Oh, I don't know," he said, argumentatively. "Just as good, possibly,
but never better."
"All right, have it your own way," she laughed. "Now do we begin?
One--two--three--come on. We'll beat them even with the head start."
Off they raced, light and graceful and buoyantly alive. It was no task
at all to overtake Roy, who was hampered by gasping little Mrs.
Irving--who, although young, was not--_so_ young. Next came Amy and
Will, running easily, but Allen and Betty passed them as if they had
been standing still.
"Oh, you will, will you?" Will shouted as they went by. "We'll see about
that. What do you say, Amy, more speed?"
"Sure," said game little Amy. "I can go lots faster than this." So the
two quickened their pace, but Betty and Allen were on wings, and, try as
they might, they could not lessen the space between.
"Oh, well, we don't want to beat them anyway, do we?" said Will, when
they had to give up.
"No, we wouldn't think of taking the fun from them," she panted, and
they both laughed merrily.
Meanwhile the two champion runners had overtaken Grace and Frank and had
started on the last lap to the wharf.
"There's the little steamer now, Allen!" gasped Betty. "Oh, do you think
it will go without us?" As if for answer the whistle on the curious old
ferry shrieked a warning to all would-be voyagers to Pine Island.
Allen's hand tightened its grasp of Betty's arm. "Are you game for one
last spurt?" he asked her. "We may be able to make it."
Betty nodded her head, for just then breath was precious and not to be
wasted in idle words. Silently, the two called on their splendid reserve
strength, while arm in arm they sped along the shore to the dock. They
reached it just in the nick of time.
"Hold on there, will you?" shouted Allen, with what he had left of his
breath. "The rest of the party will be up in a minute."
True to his prophecy, in a moment's time the entire company was
assembled on the ancient dock, tired and out of breath, but happy to be
there nevertheless.
"You two are some classy little speed merchants," remarked Frank,
slangily, while he regarded the pair thus designated with profound
admiration. "I never knew two people could run so fast before."
"So this is the steamer!" said Grace, as soon as she could find breath
enough to speak at all. "It does justify your aunt's description,
Mollie, although it doesn't look quite so rickety as I expected."
"Probably she will look lots worse in the daylight," Will prophesied
cheerfully. "Say, folks, what do you say to our making ourselves
comfortable? We have quite some ride before us; eh, Mollie?"
"About half an hour's _sail_," corrected Mollie. "You _ride_ in an
automobile, but you _sail_ in a boat."
"I don't see why ride isn't just as appropriate as sail in this case,"
said Will, sitting on a suitcase beside Amy, with his back against the
rail, prepared to argue the point. "Especially since this old tub has
never known a sail."
"Betty," Frank said, turning to that young person who was gazing
dreamily out over the water, "what did they put in that basket when we
stopped at the hotel this afternoon?"
"What?" she said, bringing her mind down to every-day things with an
effort. "Oh, the basket! I wouldn't dare tell you that," she added, with
sudden animation. "Boys, boys, if you could only see inside--if you only
could--oh, how your mouths would water!"
"Just think," said Grace, tragically. "Here we have everything that goes
to make up a romantic sail----"
"What, for instance?" Roy demanded. "If you call a leaky old ferryboat
with the weather so damp that you can't touch the rail without feeling
as if you have had a dip in the briny--if that's what you call romantic,
then give me a good open fire and plenty of chicken bones to gnaw."
"Oh," said Betty in sorrow, shaking her head at the depths to which the
boys had fallen. "Frank, I would never have thought it of you. Just the
same," she added, in a stage whisper, "I wouldn't mind having a couple
of them myself."
"Betty, Betty," Allen reproved her. "I thought----"
"Oh, Mollie, look there," cried Betty, pulling her friend towards her
and indicating an indistinct shadowy bulk looming eerily before them.
"Mollie, dear, that's the island, isn't it? I can't wait until I put my
two feet on it."
"Oh, I wish we could see an inch before our noses!" said Grace
impatiently. "I can't make out a single blessed thing."
"Probably going to rain some more," said Frank consolingly. "Never mind,
Grace, whenever your heart begins to fail you, just think of--what,
fellows?"
"Chicken!" they shouted, with one voice.
"You don't know you are going to get any, yet," Betty declared. "If I
remember rightly, Frank is the only one who said anything about it, and
he doesn't know what he is talking about."
"Betty, don't be heartless," Allen implored. "Is there or is there not a
fowl in that basket?"
"There is!" she answered in solemn tones.
"Hoorah!" shouted Will. "Three cheers for the good old bird!"
As he spoke the little steamer scraped against the dock that was almost
invisible to those on deck, then came to a full stop. The shrill whistle
which Roy contemptuously characterized as a joke, broke the misty
stillness with a shriek, that echoed and re-echoed, thrown back upon
itself by some distant cave or hillside on the island.
"Goodness! I wouldn't mind a nice fire myself," said Mollie, shivering
with something a little more than cold. There was something mysterious
about this island, shrouded as it was in the clinging mist--something
that made the girls draw close together for companionship. "I hope it
will be more cheerful in the daytime--the island, I mean, not the fire,"
she added.
"Girls," cried Betty, "this looks like a regular adventure island. Maybe
we'll find the gypsies here."
"Oh, don't," shivered Amy. "Don't talk about gypsies--until daylight, at
least."
"Here comes the rain!" Roy shouted. "We'll have to hurry some, if we
want to beat it to the house. Here, Will, take hold of this bag. Quick,
I can't carry more than three at a time."
"Give it to Allen," Will advised, as they tumbled out on the tiny
wharf. "I have more than my share already."
"Oh, all right," said Allen, "I'll be the goat. How about it,
Betty--shall we give them another race? It looks as if a little speed
would come in handy."
"No, let Mollie lead this time. I hope she knows the way."
"Of course I do," said Mollie, coming up behind them. "There isn't any
way to find. The house is at the end of the wharf. Follow us and----"
"You'll get something to eat," Roy finished for her. "We have the
basket."
"Then you needn't worry about our following you," said Allen. "Only if
you don't look out we will get there before you after all. Come on,
Betty," and for the second time that day the young folks had a chance to
test their skill in running. The main thing was that they got there
before the rain.