A NOVEL INITIATION
"Quick girls! Get Nora!"
This was the order given by Pell, who in emergencies assumed leadership.
"Here Nora," called Betta, "just put your hand on my shoulder. We can
almost walk in. Don't be frightened."
But Nora was terribly frightened. That water! And not being able to swim
a stroke!
"Look!" called out Thistle, who was now standing in the more shallow
water, "it is only up to my shoulders. Just bring Nora out here and she
can wade in," announced the Scotch girl.
The sight of Thistle actually standing on her feet brought to Nora the
first free breath she had breathed since that awful thing happened. Now
she had courage to stop choking and do as she had been told.
"Why, you swam that time," puffed Betta to whom Nora had struggled. Did
she really swim? She felt herself buoyed up for a moment somehow, in
fact she had never gone down.
Before that supporting move had lost its endurance her hand was safely
on Betta's shoulder, and both were moving slowly but securely towards
the bank.
"That's it," Pell encouraged. "No need for any trouble if you just
keep--cool!"
"Cool enough," grumbled Thistle. "I hate lakes for that," she continued
to call out.
"How's that!" asked Betta when she reached the shallow water from which
point all were wading in.
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Nora. Her relief was so great it seemed to her
pure joy.
"Your first?" asked Wyn.
"First?" repeated Nora.
"First ducking," added Wyn. "If so it is your official initiation. You
are now a full fledged member of the Chickadees."
It was easy for Nora to laugh--she felt she would never do anything but
laugh, it was so good to be safe within reach of shore once again.
Thistle and Wyn threw their wet heads back and emitted a "coo-hee." The
call was taken up by the others, and instead of the incident being of an
alarming nature it was thus turned into a lark.
"Coo-hee! Coo-hee!" sounded along the little lake basin, while shouts of
laughter and expressions of opinion about bobbed heads after an
unexpected ducking, were snapped from Scout to Scout as the party waded
in.
So near the edge they were loath to emerge. No possibility of getting
any wetter or spoiling anything more generally, but there was a
possibility of more fun.
"Where's that Jimbsy boy?" demanded Pell. "We didn't leave him to the
sharks, did we?"
"Look," replied Thistle, pointing to a little slash in the lake's
outline. It was a pocket full of water just about big enough to float
the upturned boat that Jimmie was pushing in through it.
"Poor boy! And we never asked him what he was out after," reflected
Betta. "Maybe he had an order to bring a boat load of passengers from
the Ledge."
"We'll take up a collection for him," proposed Pell.
"What'll we collect?" asked Wyn.
"Opinions," replied the first. "They're most plentiful."
Nora was out of water and shaking herself like a poodle. Now that it was
all over, the thrill was unmistakable.
"Look who's coming!" called out one of the girls, and turning around
Nora glimpsed Ted coming down the narrow path.
"Quick, Nora, hide!" exclaimed Wyn. "Then spring out and surprise her."
Obeying, Nora jumped behind a big bush.
Even in the excitement she realized what companionship meant. It was so
much more fun than playing at foolish dressing up and imagination games.
Could she have but understood more clearly she would have recognized in
that situation the theory of having girls "do" to learn, and that active
sport of the young is one of the standards of Scout teaching.
She listened as the girls greeted Mrs. Manton. No gasps of alarm nor
expressions of fear were exchanged, for Cousin Ted was of the Scout
calibre herself.
"Better hang on the hickory limbs and dry, before your leader sees you,"
she cautioned. "Those uniforms won't be fit for parade."
"And mine was all beautifully pressed," whimpered Pell.
"So were all our suits, Mrs. Manton," asserted Thistle, "because we were
calling on you first."
"Really! Did you see my little girl?"
"Oh, yes," drawled Betta.
"I so want her to grow into scouting," continued Mrs. Manton, and at
that Nora felt she could make her presence known. But a quick snap of a
stick from Betta, as she swished it back of Nora's bush, kept her from
stepping out.
"Does she like the water?" asked Wyn, with a suppressed giggle.
"I am afraid she has had little chance to get acquainted with it,"
replied Ted. "Nora has been developed at one angle. This sort of
experience would probably give her nervous prostration."
That was the cue. Nora jumped out!
"Child!"
"The very same!" pronounced Thistle grandly, waving a dripping arm.
Mrs. Manton was too surprised to do more than look at Nora. Her brown
eyes were twinkling and her mouth twitching in a broad grin. Presently
she jumped past Betta and threw her arms around Nora.
"You darling baby!" she exclaimed, all unmindful of the water she was
blotting up from Nora's new suit. "How ever did you--come here and
get--like--this?"
"Chick-chick-chick-Chickadees!" sang out a chorus. "Cluck! Cluck!
Cluck!"
If one could look pretty after a ducking in a strange lake, Nora did.
Her curls liked nothing better, and her cheeks pinked up prettily, while
her eyes--they were as blue as the violets that listened in the
underbrush.
"You don't mind her initiation, do you, Mrs. Manton?" asked Wyn.
"Why no. In fact, I'm delighted," replied the young woman. "But why the
secret? I have been left out in the cold," she said, genially.
"Only candidates are informed," said Wyn, keeping up the joke.
"Was that really it? Was this a private initiation, and am I intruding?"
"All over," sang out Betta. "The bars are down and the guests welcome."
"Betta be goin' up the hill a bit," suggested Thistle. "This is no place
for dripping chicks."
"The sun _would_ be helpful," agreed Pell. "I don't mind the water when
it's fresh, but I hate to get mildewed."
"Hey!" came a call from somewhere. "Wanta get in again?"
"We certainly do not," yelled back Wyn. "Jimbsy James, you're a fraud.
What ails your yacht, anyway?"
"All right, then," called back Jimmie good naturedly. "I'll be goin'. So
long!"
"So long yourself," called back Wyn, "and send your bill to
headquarters."
"Were you--in his boat?" asked Ted, a light beginning to break through
the girls' perpetual nonsense.
"We were, momentarily," replied Betta. "But we needed exercise so we
decided to walk," she finished. Nora saw how friendly the girls all were
with Ted, and felt a pang, not of jealousy, but of regret. Why had she
never known such companionship?
"I must go back to my trees," said Mrs. Manton, when the girls had found
a clear path of sunshine. "I have some important marking to do. Nora,
you follow directions and you need not fear earth, sky or water. These
little Scouts are impervious to all catastrophes."
And Nora had almost expected to be sent home for a rub down, a hot drink
and all the other coddling!
"Oh, I'm all right," she hurried to reply. "I'll be home----"
"When the ceremonies are over," interrupted Thistle. "We are due at the
Ledge long ago, and if we don't soon make it I am afraid we will all be
kept in tonight."
"In those wet things?" protested Wyn. "Not for me. I'm going back to
camp and change. Come along Nora. We have an extra outfit in our box and
we'll lend it to you. Thistle is a regular fish, she is never happy when
dry skinned."
Mrs. Manton had disappeared in the winding path and Nora was secretly
glad of Wyn's invitation. She could not as yet actually enjoy wet
clothes. The girls had managed to save their hats and caps, but even
these still dripped and could not be comfortably worn to keep off the
strong sun's rays that beat down in the clear spots along the lake's
edge.
"We'll have some trouble explaining to the general," remarked Thistle as
they started back to camp. "And this was the day we were to finish our
collection."
"But look, what we did collect," answered Wyn under her breath,
referring to Nora. "Did you ever see anyone so pleased as our friend?"
"She looked happy," assented Thistle. "But say, Scoutie; whatever are we
going to tell the girls about the prince?"
"Let's say we drowned him," suggested Wyn, foolishly. "That will give
Alma a lovely murder mystery to work upon."
Nora overheard the word "prince" and surmised correctly it was meant for
her Fauntleroy. She longed to turn back to the Nest rather than meet the
other girl who might recognize her.
"It's so near lunch time----" she began.
"Oh, no girlie," protested Betta. "You are the only specimen we have
collected today, and if you don't come back with us we will all get
dreadful marks. Come along. Be a sport and help us out."
"Yes, we will be considered life savers, perhaps," added Thistle. "Of
course, we won't say we did anything noble----"
"Nor say we didn't," drawled Wyn.
Thus urged, Nora had no choice, so she set off with her new companions
towards Chickadee Camp.