“How, then, shall we gain the opposite bank?” asked Harper.
“By swimming,” she answered.
When they had proceeded about a quarter of a mile farther, Haidee stopped.
“This is a good part; the river is narrow here, but the current is strong.”
“But will it not be dangerous for you to trust yourself to the stream?” Martin remarked, as he divested himself of his jacket.
“Dangerous? No,” she answered; “I am an excellent swimmer.”
She unwound a long silken sash from her waist, and, tying one end round her body and the other round Harper, she said—
“I am ready. Swim against the current as much as possible, and you will gain a bend almost opposite to us.”
Martin walked to the water’s edge, and, quietly slipping in, struck out boldly. Haidee and Harper followed, and as they floated out into the stream she whispered—