"The old pine tree fell. It was fortunate for us that we were in the centre of the tent, for the trunk of the tree is kept from us by the branches that are resting in the tent and on the ground at each side. But girls, we must get out of here. Is any one of you hurt?"
The girls replied in the negative. How to get free of the tent was a problem. The canvas roof was drawn taut over their haven of safety. The air in their strange prison was getting very close.
"Oh, let's get out of this awful place," moaned Cora.
"We must wait a little," answered Harriet. "You lie perfectly still. I will try to get some fresh air in here. Oh, I wish I had a knife," she added as her groping hands came in contact with the canvas over which she was searching for some little opening into which she could insert a finger and tear the canvas. A moment later Harriet uttered a glad little exclamation. She had found the opening that she was searching for. She ripped the canvas after great effort, for the cloth was tough. Then to her dismay she found a great fold of the canvas on the other side of the opening thus made. All her labor had been fruitless.
Harriet raised her voice in a shout for assistance. The cry was muffled and could not possibly have reached far. Their positions were growing more and more desperate. Harriet Burrell's three companions were so firmly held by the weight of the cots over them, that they were barely able to move. Harriet being near the edge of the heap had a little more freedom. Of this she was taking full advantage, wriggling desperately to enlarge the space about her, seeking here and there for an opening through which she might crawl in order to make a way for her companions, who were now crying hysterically. Patricia, however, was more calm than any of the others save Harriet herself.
All at once, the girl became conscious of a confused murmur of voices that seemed to come from some distance away. She shouted again and again. At last her calls were answered.
"Help is coming, girls," she cried in an encouraging voice. "Keep up your courage."
"H-a-r-r-i-e-t?" wailed a voice. "Are you there?"
"Yes, Jane."
Then she heard the voices of Hazel and Margery. The latter two were half crazed with fear for Harriet. The next time Jane cried out she was nearer to the imprisoned girls.