For a minute she watched the water falling over the dam, and noted the swiftness of the current; she turned her head in the other direction, and caught a glimpse of the swimmer, rapidly approaching her. As the latter came nearer, Marjorie identified her as a girl by the blue rubber cap she wore on her head. When she was only a dozen yards away, but still unrecognizable from the fact that her face was usually under the water, Marjorie saw her suddenly raise an arm and wave in her direction, choke, and finally go under. She came up, and went down a second time before Marjorie saw that it was Ruth, and realized that she must have been seized with a cramp, and was unable to resist the force of the current.
The frightened girl cast a wild glance back toward the school. “Jack, oh, Jack!” she shrieked, as loud as she could; but she got no answer.
In a panic she turned again toward the water. Ruth had come up again, but Marjorie could see by her face that she was unconscious. Already, the current had carried her several yards further down towards the dam.
There was not a moment to be lost; if Ruth went down the third time, it would be too late. Kicking off her pumps, she plunged into the water, and struck out for her friend.
Although Marjorie had been swimming in the pool almost every day for the past three months, the water gave her a shock. It was still much colder than that to which she had been accustomed, and the weight of her clothes dragged her down. Nevertheless, with only a few bold strokes, she reached the unconscious girl.
Breathing a sigh of thankfulness for Miss Phillips’s efficient instruction in life-saving, she took hold of Ruth and made for the shore. Her burden seemed heavy, but she did not have far to go; in another minute she reached the shallow water, and carried Ruth to the shore.
But her battle was only half over; she had only a vague idea of what to do to revive her. She had heard Lily talk about learning the measures of resuscitation at one of the scout meetings, but she had not gone into detail. “Oh, if I were only a Girl Scout,” she groaned, “I’d know what to do!”
She began to work Ruth’s arms back and forth in an aimless fashion, which did not produce results. She looked around desperately for her brother, and to her great relief, saw him coming along the path.
“Jack, Jack, hurry!” she screamed wildly. “Help!”
Jack ran as fast as he could, and in a moment stood beside her. He did not ask for an explanation, but knelt over the prostrate girl and set to work at once.