“There—are—a—lot—of—stones,” gasped Mollie. “But I think we can do it,”
she added a moment later.
“I’ll see what I can do,” spoke Betty. She was a good swimmer and
diver, perhaps not so brilliant a performer as Mollie, but with more
staying qualities. Down went Betty in a clean dive, and when she came
up, panting and shaking the water from her eyes, she called:
“I lifted out two, but I think we had better let the boys do it,
Mollie.”
“Perhaps,” was the reply.
“I’m sorry you can’t count on me,” sail Grace, “but really I’d have
nervous prostration if I went down there, even though it’s only ten
feet deep, as you say.”
“Well, getting nervous prostration under water would be a very bad
idea,” commented Betty.
“And I’m sure I never could do it,” remarked Amy. “Do let the boys
manage it, Bet. The lads who own the canoe will be glad of the chance.”
“I’m going to move out a couple of stones, so Betty won’t beat my
record,” laughed Mollie, diving again. She bobbed up a moment later.
“Oh, dear!” she cried. “An eel slid right over me. Ugh! I’m not going
down again!” and she shivered. Even the fearless Mollie had had enough
of the under-water work.
By means of a cord and a float the position of the sunken canoe was
marked, so that the boys could locate it, and when they returned from a
rather unsuccessful fishing trip, they readily agreed to raise the
boat. It did not take them long to remove the stones, for Will, Frank
and Allen were all expert swimmers, and could remain under water much
longer than can most persons.
Then a rope was made fast to the canoe, which would not rise completely
because of being filled with water. It was pulled ashore and word sent
to the young owners. That they were delighted goes without saying. They
proffered the reward they had offered, but of course our friends would
not take it. Later it was learned that the canoe had been taken by an
unscrupulous fisherman, who was not above the suspicion of making a
practice of such tricks. It was thought he intended to let it remain
where it was until fall, when he would raise it, paint it a different
color, and sell it. But Mollie’s fortunate dive frustrated his plans.
“Seen anything more of the ghost?” asked Will of the girls, when the
canoe had been moored to the shore.
“No, and we don’t want to,” returned Betty.
“Afraid?” Allen wanted to know.
“Indeed not!” she exclaimed, with a blush.
“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” suggested Frank. “Let’s take a look
around and see if that ghost left any footprints.”
“Ghosts never do,” asserted Will.
“Well, let’s have a look anyhow. We should have done it before. Now, as
nearly as I can recollect, the creature came about to here, and then
rushed into the lake,” and Frank went to a spot some distance from the
tents. The others agreed that it was about there that the white object
had been seen. Will was looking along the ground, going toward the
lake. Suddenly he uttered an exclamation.
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