ALMOST A COLLISION
On, on came the big steamboat, looming larger as it bore down upon
them! Nearer, nearer, while the wash from its approach reached the
little motor boat in sickening undulations--a danger not thought of
before! They would be swept on to the rocks!
Closer, closer! It would strike them! It must! It was over them,
gigantic, overwhelming! The girls nerved themselves for the shock that
was to come. Grace closed her eyes--
And then--the steamer had passed. Betty had swerved at just the right
moment to escape collision. The _Gem_ was acting like a drunken man,
swirling and reeling in the heavy wash of the great steamer.
They were heading straight toward the rocks, driven by the agitated
waves. In another moment they would be dashed upon them--
“Betty!” screamed Grace. “We’ll be killed! The rocks!”
But the wail was drowned in the sudden roar of the motor. The _Gem_
leaped forward, her nose swung around to meet the oncoming waves.
Gallantly she plowed through the water which was lashed to a froth
by the progress of the steamer, just grazing a jagged edge of rock,
flinging spray over her bows, soaking the girls.
Then she was free of the channel, speeding for the safety of the open
water. Betty, looking back over her shoulder, saw that the decks of the
_General Pershing_ were black with people who had rushed to the rail to
see the fate of the motor boat.
The steamer had slowed down and half turned around as though intending
to come to the rescue, but, seeing that this was unnecessary, she
straightened once more, continuing on her way.
Betty’s hands trembled on the wheel. The reaction left her faint and
sick. As though from a long distance she heard Mollie’s voice saying:
“Well, if that wasn’t a narrow squeak, I never saw one!”
“It was the Little Captain saved us,” said Amy. “She knew just what to
do, as she always does.”
And this indeed was the reason for Betty Nelson’s nickname of “Little
Captain.” For this brown-haired, brown-eyed girl seemed always to know
just what to do at a critical moment and, more than this, she always
did it. She was just eighteen and the only daughter of a rich carpet
manufacturer of Deepdale. It was hard to tell which Betty loved the
more, her kindly, indulgent father or her lovely mother.
Grace Ford, the second of the Outdoor Girls, was tall and slender, fond
of her comfort and loving candy and sodas and sweets of all sorts. Her
father was a distinguished lawyer and her mother was a fine looking
woman who spent a good deal of her time in club activities. Grace also
had a brother, Will Ford, of whom she was passionately fond.
Then there was Mollie Billette, daughter of Mrs. Pauline Billette, a
well-to-do, sprightly little widow with more than a dash of French
blood in her veins. Perhaps her French ancestry explains Mollie’s quick
temper. Mollie also had a little brother and sister, twins and seven
years old. The latter were always in mischief, and although Mollie
loved them dearly, she sometimes found it very hard to have patience
with them.
The last of the quartette of Outdoor Girls was Amy Blackford, whom the
girls had first known as Amy Stonington. She was the ward of John and
Sarah Stonington and at one time there had been considerable mystery
regarding her real parentage. Later, when the mystery was solved, Amy
found out that not only was her real name Blackford but that she was
possessed of a splendid brother as well, Henry Blackford. Like Mollie,
Amy was seventeen, but there the resemblance ended. She was as quiet as
Mollie was hot-tempered, and there was something sweet and appealing
about her that roused the protective instinct of the more vigorous
girls.
So much for the girls. Then, there were the four boys who almost
invariably accompanied the girls on their adventures. There was, of
course, Will Ford, Grace’s brother, who, as a soldier in the World War
had distinguished himself by some clever secret service work. Will
loved quiet Amy Blackford and Amy, in turn, made no secret of her
feeling for him.
There was Allen Washburn, the clever young lawyer who thought the
Little Captain was about the nicest person in the world. Allen had
enlisted at the call of the United States to arms. He was made a
sergeant in the American Army and, although he had gone over a
sergeant, he came back with a commission as lieutenant. No wonder the
girls--and especially Betty--were proud of him!
Frank Haley was another of the boys in the little group. A splendid
young fellow, liked by all the girls, and liking them all, he had been
introduced into “the crowd” because of his friendship for Will Ford.
There was, too, Roy Anderson, jolly and full of fun, always ready
for everything that came along. Perhaps Mollie expressed the general
sentiment toward him when she said that they were fond of Roy chiefly
because he always kept them amused. And how apt we are to love the
person that amuses us!
The girls had earned their title of “Outdoor Girls” from the fact that
they almost always managed to spend their vacations in the open. And
because of this they had run into a great number of adventures.
There was, for instance, their first tramping tour of the country,
the incidents of which are told in the first volume of the series,
entitled “The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale.” There had followed many other
adventures, at Rainbow Lake, at Ocean View, in Florida, and, later,
on an island called Pine Island where they had found many interesting
things, including a real gypsy cave.
During the war they had served in a Hostess House while the boys,
together with countless others of our fine American lads, sailed off
across the ocean to fight for liberty.
Another summer they had spent at Wild Rose Lodge, a lovely spot hidden
deep in the woods where they became interested in a poor old man who
thought his two sons had been killed in the war.
In the volume directly preceding this, entitled “The Outdoor Girls
in the Saddle,” these girls had had one of their most interesting
adventures. Mrs. Nelson, Betty’s mother, through the death of a
relative, had become the owner of a ranch.
The most important thing about this ranch--in the estimation of the
girls, at least--was the fact that it was situated right in the midst
of a great gold-mining district. How the girls with Mr. and Mrs. Nelson
went to the ranch, spending a glorious few weeks in the saddle, and how
gold was finally found on the ranch is told of in detail in that volume.
And now we turn once more to the present with Betty Nelson, the Little
Captain, saving her chums from the peril of collision with the great
river steamer _General Pershing_.
As for Betty, although the girls heaped her with their praises, she had
never felt less like a heroine in her life.
Scarcely knowing what she did, she turned the nose of the little boat
back toward Deepdale. The thought was unpleasant that once more they
would be forced to pass through that narrow channel, bounded on either
side by the rocky shore.
However, this time there was no _General Pershing_ bearing relentlessly
down upon them and they passed through the dangerous spot without
further mishap.
“Goodness, I’m glad that’s over!” said Grace, relaxing once more in her
seat, her voice still tremulous.
“We couldn’t possibly have met that old boat in a worse place,” said
Mollie, glaring resentfully after the _General Pershing_, whose bulk
was diminishing rapidly in the distance.
“Well,” said Betty, trying to laugh and not making a very good job of
it, “there’s no use blaming the steamer. We shouldn’t have been there,
you know.”
“Don’t you want me to take the wheel, Betty?” spoke up Amy, suddenly.
“Come back here in my place and I’ll take the _Gem_ the rest of the
way.”
But though she smiled at her, Betty denied firmly that there was any
reason why she should give up the wheel.
“I’m all right,” she said, adding, as she rounded the curve of an
island, skirting the shore toward Deepdale: “Do you want to stay out
any longer, or shall we call it a day and go up to my house? Mother
said there was an apple pie in the refrigerator and some ginger ale on
the ice.”
“Oh, boy!” sighed Grace ecstatically. “Lead me to it.”
“So say we all of us,” said Mollie, and Amy joined in the chorus.
Strange how their terrifying experience of a few minutes before
disappeared in the distance as they thought of apple pie!
“And we can talk over our plans for camping, too,” said Amy, at which
the girls realized that they had not thought of Henry Blackford’s shack
in the woods for five whole minutes. This would never do.
By the time they had reached the dock at Deepdale they had nearly
forgotten their encounter with the _General Pershing_ and so were
genuinely surprised when they saw Allen hurrying toward them.
At sight of the tall figure Betty’s heart missed a beat and her face
felt suddenly hot. If only she might stop that miserable habit of
blushing--especially when Allen was around!