Fortune favored them, for not only was the dry wood there, but an old kettle, which they had left because it leaked, turned up, with a can partly full of coffee. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun. In a place close to shelving rocks which sheltered them from the wind and where some trees had made a half circle on another side, Mickey and Dr. Norris made a roaring fire and boiled the coffee. “Never mind the lake water,” said Mickey. “We can’t get around to the spring and we’ll boil the germs out of anything with this fire!”
The girls who were able to keep active, warmed themselves by their very activity and turning first one side, then another, to the hot fire. The injured girls were braced up against the rocks as close to the fire as seemed best, while the other girls and Miss West took turns in chafing their hands and trying to get them to swallow a little hot coffee. But it was discouraging, for there was no dry clothing to put on them, sweaters and raincoats having gone to the bottom with the Greycliff. Helen and Hilary were almost in tears as they worked over Eloise, while Lilian and Cathalina could not seem to rouse from their exhaustion, though they drank a little coffee and declared that they were all right, in answer to their friends’ eager inquiries. But at best it was a hard situation for the whole party, and despair seemed near at times, as the outlook for the two girls who seemed to have been injured was not favorable. The lake was still lashed into a fury and it seemed that aid could scarcely arrive before night. Betty kept insisting that Miss Randolph would get a boat to them some way, but even the courage of Mickey and Dr. Norris went under a cloud, and they doggedly kept on bringing wood to the fire. Several hours went by. The wind died down, but the big waves still lashed the rocks and came rolling high upon the sands.
“O, Eloise opened her eyes!” exclaimed Helen, who sat with Eloise’s head on her lap, rubbing it gently and drying her long hair. The girls by this time had dried some of their own garments and slipped them on Eloise and Dorothy as they could, removing the well-soaked clothing and putting it on sticks, or holding it out to the fire to dry.
“Dorothy shivered a little while ago, but I don’t know whether that is good or bad,” said Myrtle Wiseman, who had been very active in the work over the two girls, and had also helped Cathalina and Lilian. Betty had whispered “remorse,” to Hilary, as Myrtle brought some coffee to Lilian. But Hilary answered, “I’m glad she feels like it,” and to Myrtle said, “That is very kind, Myrtle!”
“Would you want to make up with her?” asked Betty.
“Surely. I don’t want to have any enemies. She can never make any trouble between Lilian and me again.”
“I ’spect you’re right, Hilary. And we’ve been pretty near losing our lives today. Do you think that we’ll get back?”
“O, yes, Betty, though I’m pretty worried about Eloise and Dorothy.”
Just then there came three loud blasts from a steamer.
“O, they’ve come for us! They’ve come!” exclaimed one after another, rushing to a point where they could see a large steamer tossing at some little distance.