“Oh-h-h-h!” cried the girls despairingly. They had relied implicitly on Harriet’s resourceful brain to find the means to release them from their dangerous predicament.
“Wait until I have finished. You know that I’m not afraid. You know better than to think so,” soothed Harriet. “Don’t you see, if I were to get caught in the mud, your last hope would be gone? We might all perish here before any one found us.”
“You are right as usual, Harriet,” said Miss Elting. She was apparently calm. If she were nervous no trace of it was discoverable in her voice. “What do you propose to do?”
“I am going to pile some more stuff on what I have already placed there. Each of you is to throw out her arms and if possible lock hands across the barrier. When one hand gets tired change to the other one. That will keep you from sinking down much deeper. The saplings should keep you up, though it will be a rather severe strain on your arm.”
“What will you do, Harriet?” asked Miss Elting.
“I am going for help.”
“Oh, don’t leave uth!” wailed Grace.
“Harriet is right,” agreed Hazel. “It is the only thing to do. But which way will you go?”
“I will go back the way we came. I believe that if I am careful I shall be able to reach solid ground without getting off the trail. A short distance from here the ground rises somewhat and is harder. Once I reach that I shall be safe.”
“But, Harriet, where will you go for help?”