"Done!" chorused the girls and their guardian.
"Very well," smiled Harriet. "The contest begins now, and of course all unfair tricks are to be barred out by both sides."
"Of course," agreed George. "But come along and have a look at the rope."
Harriet stepped briskly ashore, followed by Jane and the two boys. She went directly to where the rope and the anchor lay. Picking up the former she ran it through her hands until she came to the loop that had been drawn about the cleat on the deck when the boat had been anchored on the previous afternoon. The Meadow-Brook Girl held the loop on the palm of her left hand, gazing at the rope reflectively. She frowned slightly as she looked at it.
"Well, what do you find?" questioned the captain briskly.
Harriet glanced up at him quickly.
"I understand," she said.
"What is it, Harriet, dear?" asked Miss Elting.
"Oh, what a mess!" muttered Jane, who had been looking over Harriet's shoulder. "Here's more trouble for the Meadow-Brook Girls, and trouble for somebody besides them, too."
"You can see for yourself," replied Harriet, handing the end of the rope to the guardian.