Part 28 (1/2)
”Don't try to get up,” commanded Mollie, as Amy tried weakly to raise herself on her elbow
”Just lie still and you'll feel better in a minute,” Grace added, while Amy looked from one to the other of them ide, bewildered eyes
”What happened,” she asked, then, as ave a little cry and covered her eyes with her hand
”Oh, girls,” she cried, ”I thought I was going to die!”
”Yes, yes, we know,” said Betty soothingly, as though she were talking to a little child, ”but you're all right now, dear”
”Don't try to tell us about it unless you want to,” added Mollie
”I swah they had not spoken ”And when I tried to get back I found that so with exhaustion and the h, but when the girls tried to stop her she would not listen and hurried on feverishly
”It was a craet rid of it the worse it got till finally I got panic-stricken I called to you girls, but you didn't seeirls held their breath as she looked around at theain and called, and--and--I saw you, Betty Oh, it was terrible!”
”Then,” cried Betty, her voice tre, ”when you went down that last tigled so hard that I succeeded in getting my head above water and--that hen you reached me--Betty--”
”Thank Heaven,” said Betty, with a little sob, ”that I was there!”
CHAPTER XXII
DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN
”Well,” said Mollie, with a sigh, ”I fancy there isn't verysuits I, for one, don't feel like swireed Grace
”And I,” said A aith a shudder from the water where she had so closely coain”
”Oh, but you will get over that,” Betty assured her quickly ”I don't bla that way now--I do myself--but after a while you will be just as crazy about it as ever”
”I don't know,” said Amy slowly ”When you have once come face to face with death like that, you are not anxious to do it again in a hurry”
”But you have never had a cramp before,” reasoned Mollie, ”and you probably never will have one again”
”But I am not sure of that,” insisted Amy
”There's no reason why you can't be sure of it after a while,” Betty pointed out ”You see, we girls are pretty well out of practice It's a long ti, and our ot tired out to-day twice as quickly as we ordinarily would”
”And you tried to swim too far,” added Mollie ”That's the reason your poor old ht have happened to any one of us,” Grace agreed ”All we need is a little practice to swiain”
”Oh, do you think so?” asked Aerly, while the color came back into her pale cheeks ”If I could only be sure of that!”
Betty was about to reply, but at that minute a voice hailed them from the direction of the house and they jumped up to see anted
”It'sat us”