"Oh, dear! I wish we got as much as that to eat," sighed Laura.
The boat race had just come to a finish when those out on the lake heard a cry from the shore. There seemed to be a great commotion among the girls from Three Towers Hall.
"We'll go back and see what's up," shouted Ferd, and those in the rowboats lost no time in following the suggestion.
They were still a hundred feet or more from the lake shore when they saw what had happened. In their eagerness to see the finish of the race Amanda Peabody and Eliza Dilks had ventured out on a soft bank, holding to some low bushes for that purpose. Bushes and bank had given way suddenly, and both girls had gone floundering into the water and mud up to their waists. Now they had been pulled to safety, and their chums, seeing that they were not hurt, set up a shout of laughter.
"You are mean things, that's what you are!" cried Amanda, in vexation.
"The meanest ever was!" echoed Eliza.
And then the two dripping figures hurried for the friendly shelter of the boarding school.
"Gracious, what a happening!" was Vi's comment. And then she added quickly: "But they deserved it."
"They certainly did," responded Laura. "What a fine thing it would be if they would leave this school."