Friendship -- Juvenile fiction; Houseboats -- Juvenile fiction; Vacations -- Juvenile fiction; Young women -- Juvenile fiction
"Have you seen Tania?" she called faintly, trying to reserve both her
breath and her strength.
Then Phil remembered Tania with a rush of remorse and terror. "No, I
haven't, Madge. What could have become of the child?" she faltered.
Lillian looked out over the water. Surely the launch that had wrecked
them would have been able by this time to come back to their assistance.
The boat had stopped, but it had not moved near to them. So far, its crew
showed no sign of giving them any aid. Lillian could not believe her
eyes.
"I'd better dive for Tania again," said Madge quietly, without intimating
to her chums that she was feeling a little tired and less sure of herself
in the water than usual. She knew they would not allow her to dive.
When she went down for Tania the second time she chose a different place
to make her descent. She must find the little girl at once.
She was swimming along, not many inches from the bottom of the bay, when
she caught sight of what seemed to her a large fish floating near some
rocks. Madge swam toward it slowly. It was Tania's foot, swaying with the
motion of the water. Caught on a spar, which might have once been part of
a mast of an old ship, was Tania's dress. On the other side of her was a
rock, and her body had become wedged between the two objects. It was a
beautiful place and might have been a cave for a mermaid, but it held the
little earth-princess in a death-like grasp.
It is possible to be sick with fear and yet to be brave. Madge knew her
danger. She saw that Tania's dress was caught fast. She would have to tug
at it valiantly to get it away. First, she pulled desperately at Tania's
shoe, hoping she could free her body. A suffocating weight had begun to
press down on her chest. She could hear a roaring and buzzing in her
ears. She knew enough of the water to realize that she had been too long
underneath; she should rise to the surface again to get her breath. But
she dared not wait so long to release Tania. Nor did she know that she
could find the child again when she returned. She must do her work now.
So Madge pulled more slowly and carefully at Tania's frock, unwinding it
from the spar that held it. With a few gentle tugs she released it and
Tania's slender body rose slowly. The child's eyes were closed, her face
was as still and white as though she were dead. Madge was glad of Tania's
unconsciousness. She knew that in this lay the one chance of safety for
herself and the child. If Tania came to consciousness and began to
struggle the little captain knew that her strength was too far gone for
her to save either the child or herself. She would not leave her. She
would have to drown with her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account