"Oh!" yelled Ted, and he began running for shore as fast as he could splash through the water.
CHAPTER XIII
JAN'S QUEER RIDE
"What's the matter? What is it?" cried Nora from the bank where she was tossing bits of wood into the lake for Trouble to pretend they were little boats. "Have you got a cramp, Teddy boy?"
"It's a—a big fish—or—somethin'," he panted, as he kept on running and splashing the water all about, which, after all, did not matter as he was in his bathing suit.
"It's a shark after him!" cried Jan, who, by this time, was safe on shore, stopping on her way to grasp Trouble by the hand and lead him also to safety. "It's a shark!"
She had heard her mother read of bathers in the ocean being sometimes frightened by sharks, or by big fish that looked like sharks.
"Oh, a shark! Good land! We mustn't bathe here any more!" cried Nora.
By this time Ted was in such shallow water that it was not much above his ankles. He could see the bottom, and he hoped no very big fish could swim in so little water. So he thought it would be safe to stop and look back.
"Oh, it's coming some more!" cried Jan, from where she stood on the bank with Nora and Trouble. "Look, Ted! It's coming."