THE GLORIOUS AFTERMATH
THE wig wag contest had furnished enough excitement at Sea Crest to constitute a nine day's wonder. Nothing short of an uncanny power seemed attributed to the Girl Scout, who would risk her own life in a dive from that pier, when she saw a canoe upset beneath. The whole occurrence had been so spectacular that the publicity it provoked was widespread—every one was talking of the wig wag rescue.
"But, Weasie dear," cooed Grace, "what did it feel like to jump? Just tell us that and then we'll let you off."
Louise smiled wanly. Was it possible that any other question could be invented?
"It didn't exactly feel," she replied to Grace, "but I knew I had to do it. I had been watching the little speck of a boat as it took the rollers from the side, and I knew the next would toss it over. Then I saw Kitty—and I didn't think of the distance after that."
"You looked about as big as a fish hawk diving for his dinner," remarked Cleo, "and you nipped Kitty just as neatly as a hawk pecks his fish."
"I felt just like that—it is birdlike to dive from such a distance," Louise said, "and cutting through the air, free of everything—is—is wonderful."
"Even with the ocean as a backstop?" asked Helen shivering.
"Nice and soft," Louise said reflectively.
"But however did you hold on to Kitty, and cling to the canoe?" persisted Grace, in spite of the promise to cease questioning.
"I don't know. It was black for awhile, and I just struggled to keep up, and to keep Kitty up. She was too scared to help herself, and she had swallowed a lot of water. I guess I managed to cling to the canoe—Girls, you don't know what you can do until you have to," she finished.
It was still early, but the visit to Kitty at the hospital had to be made early, according to promise. Louise and Margaret were to go, and the other scouts, especially Julia and Grace, were going in the car as far as the village, to be picked up there by the girl's car on the way back.
They found the patient dressed, and being forcibly detained, as the nurse put it. In fact, Kitty had been dressed since day break, and nothing short of force did detain her.
"Good thing you come now," she greeted Margaret. "Oh, there's my life-saver. Hello, McGinty, how's the water to-day? I don't want to test it though," she shook her cropped head, and the girls noticed how much better that hair looked since its salt water shampoo.
"Don't hurry so, Kitty. You have plenty of time. Uncle Pete said he would be over at the landing at ten o'clock, and it's only nine now." Louise told her.
"No matter what time," she retorted, "it's next year to me. This place is haunted sure. I was fishin' with ghosts all night."
"That was your bromide," Margaret assured her. "You were so excited and hysterical you simply had to be quieted down. Do you feel all right?"
"Don't know as I feel at all," Kitty answered, jerking herself up to make sure she had not grown fins. "I never want to read that Jonah story again. But I knew it! I knew it!" and she chewed her lips in repressed bitterness.
"Knew what?" Louise asked.
"That the old monster ocean would try to swallow me," she replied. "Didn't I tell you I would never go on that water after what it done to me? But I did want to see that wig waggin' and I went out because—"
She stopped, and the sharp little black eyes were glistening.
"I know, Kitty. You wanted to see us beat the boys, didn't you?" asked Louise. "Well, we did it, and maybe if you hadn't—got spilled, I couldn't have won on the signalling. You see, the life boat was out there watching, and they caught my message, and just shot in—lucky for you and me."
"If I knowed Captain Dave's men were out there, I wouldn't have been so scared to death," Kitty said. "But anyhow, I'm goin' home," and she made for the door. "Good-by, nurse, you've been real good to me. I like your cookin' first rate, and I'll fetch you the first mess of clams I dig," she offered.
The nurse was amused and interested. Kitty had given her a new line on patients. From the time her wet clothes had been taken from her, Kitty had threatened to go out on the fire escape in the hospital robe, if they were not returned very early in the morning, and nurse knew very well, she intended to carry out the threat.
There was no bag or luggage to leave with Kitty, neither did she dally in her exit. Rather, she was in the car and waiting, before Margaret and Louise could possibly get down the stairs and reach the sidewalk.
"I love automobiles," said Kitty, as they climbed in, and Leonore touched the starter.
"Wish you would take a longer ride," Margaret remarked. "It would do you good."
"Can't, wish I could," the girl replied a bit wistfully. "Don't know what's happened since I've been away. Hope Bentley was there." Margaret then noticed an anxiety that seemed to make a woman out of the winsome child.
"You're not worrying about Uncle Pete?" asked Louise. "The girl said he was all right last evening."
"Oh no, it isn't Uncle Pete I'm worrying about," replied Kitty. But she did not attempt to explain further, and the girls noticed the omission.
Turning carefully into the little sand road that led to the landing, Leonore slowed down. A boy just stepped from the pavilion.
"Oh, there's Bentley!" shouted Kitty. "Hello, Ben!" she called waving frantically. No wonder she was so delighted, thought her companions. It was almost like coming back from the grave.
"Hello, Kitty," replied Bentley quickly as he could make out the figure in the back seat of the car. His face showed his pleasure. For Kitty to have been snatched from the waves, and then spend the night in the hospital, was really an occurrence.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," she rattled on. The "waits" were addressed one to Bentley and the other to Leonore. "I'm going over with Ben. Got your boat?"
"Yes, come on," called the boy, plainly glad to be of service to the heroine. "Uncle Pete is at the bend. I'll row you down to him."
"Hello, Bentley," Louise called out. "Haven't we had a great time?"
"I should say you had," he answered, cap in hand. "You're the life saver, aren't you?"
"She's it," sang out Margaret gleefully.
"Oh, say, girls" (now Bentley's bashfulness was threatening him), "did any of you lose a bag?"
For a moment neither Margaret nor Louise remembered Elizabeth's lost bag with the shoes and stockings on the beach. Then it flashed on Margaret—
"Oh, yes with some other things," she stammered. "You know, Louise, Elizabeth left her bag with the things on the beach, moonlight bathing night—"
"Yes, that's so," said Louise. "Why, Bentley? Did you find a bag?"
"No, but I saw one in a shop, and I thought it might belong to some one of you girls. What sort did you lose?"
Neither girl knew much about the lost bag, but Louise thought it might be a blue crochet.
"Yes, that's it," said Bentley. "It has a tassel on it and it's blue. I'll get it for you next time I go over to Jake's," he offered.
"Is it at Jake's?" exclaimed Kitty. "That's where I saw the dandy pumps with buckles on, and the swellest silk stockings. Louise, I'll get the bag for you, because I'm going over to Jake's to buy some of those things!"
"Oh," exclaimed Louise, in a gale of laughter. "Those are our pumps and stockings. They were taken off from the beach."
"You don't say?" and Kitty's tone allayed any possible suspicion. "That's just like Jake. Buys everything the boys offer, and no questions asked, just like they say in the papers. I tell you, I'll come around when I can," this rather dubiously, "and I'll get you girls, and we'll go and raid Jake. It'll do him good."
When she raced off with Bentley and Leonore turned toward the village the scouts were still shaking with laughter.
"We are to raid Jake's. Remember that," said Margaret.
"But we will surely have to make a contribution to Kitty," said Louise. "She has had her eye on your buckles, Maggie."
"Why didn't you see the patient all the way home?" asked Leonore, when they stopped for the other girls at the Post Office.
"Oh, why didn't we?" reiterated Louise. "Leonore, she lives on forbidden ground. We have had a glimpse of it and hope for more, but we have to bide-a-wee, don't we, Margaret? Get me a quart of those peaches," she called out to Cleo, who seemed spellbound before a fruit stand.
"And I want new apples," ordered Margaret. "Don't take any old cold storage stuff. I want new ones, if they do pizen me," she declared.
"How folks stare," whispered Louise. "I'll have to leave off this handy little uniform for a while."
"Not at all," protested Margaret. "We want folks to know who we are. I feel like giving the cheer this very minute."
But the return of the marketers forestalled any such danger. Apples and peaches, and even a big melon, were piled in the car by the boy from the Italian fruit stand, and then Cleo insisted on every one having a soda before going back to Ocean Avenue.
The drug store, where the best soda was served, filled many other civic needs than those of supplying sundaes and prescriptions. It also served as a town information bureau, and just now, while the girls were waiting for their order, a very pompous woman in the spickest, spannest white duck outfit, was asking questions from the prescription clerk.
The girls heard him mention "the Point" and at this they stopped talking to "listen in."
"But I must get my messages as quickly as they are received," said the white duck woman. "It is of the utmost importance."
"Wireless messages have to be relayed," explained the man, "and besides that, we can't always get a boat over to the place." His voice was vindictive.
"All right, but please be more careful," said the woman. "It is not a matter of money, you know."
"We only have one kind of charge," fired back the clerk rather angrily. "Our boys are paid for their time, and that's all we ask." He turned away to answer the telephone, and the haughty creature left the drug store. As she did she made no excuse for an impertinent survey of the girls, sipping their sodas.
"Know us the next time," said Cleo.
"Surely will," added Louise.
"And getting wireless messages for Luna Land! Now I'm all excited," and Margaret tried to make use of two drug store fans, one in each hand.
"It is flabbergasting," gulped Louise, finishing her soda. "That white duck reminds me of something."
"Of Kitty's nurse," Margaret exclaimed. "I think though, the wireless one has a crackle the hospital brand lacks. Kitty's nurse was quite noiseless."
"That one wasn't, though," declared Julia. "She had enough starch in that outfit to defy even the Sea Crest dampness. Perhaps that was the real idea. Come on, scouts. Do you recall Neal is to take us out in his new launch?"
"And did you hear he is going to call it the Treddie, after us?" added Grace.
"Yes, wanted to make it True Tred, but we told him that was copyrighted," explained Julia.
"Shall we dare ask for a trip to the Point?" inquired Helen. "That was the plan you know; first trip in the new launch."
"We'll see. But come on, do. Leonore, you are a dear, to take us all about, and listen to our prattle," Cleo told the capable driver who had long since finished her soda, and was waiting patiently for the younger girls.
"I like it," she replied with evident sincerity.
"You shall have a box of sunburn cream for that," sang out Louise. "What is your brand? Or would you rather have a talcum?"
Selecting from the bewildering display at the counter of summer toilet articles consumed still more time, until finally, realization that it was really lunch time, the fire bell announcing it, brought them all up sharply.
"Wish we had our slippers and pumps back," said Grace. "These emergency sneaks certainly look the part. When did Kitty say we were to raid Jake's?"
"No definite time was set, as they say about delayed scout meetings," replied Margaret, "but I could use my pretty buckled pumps this very afternoon."
"Wait a minute," Helen called to a news boy. "We want a paper!" They always seemed to want something when in town.
"Look! Look!" exclaimed Margaret, securing the sheet while some one else paid the boy. "We are all over the front page. Louise Hart, we will have to appoint a body guard for you, or the people will kidnap you. Just read this!"
"Oh, just listen," insisted Cleo. "It says the Sea Crest Life Savers are going to ask the naval authorities to acknowledge the brave act——"
But Louise had fallen back in a mock faint—The glory of the aftermath was getting a bit too thick for comfort.