S Bessie obediently started in the direction of the ball-players, Nina Edmonds uttered a shocked exclamation.
"Oh, Rosemary, I don't think you should have done that," she said reprovingly. "We haven't our shoes and stockings on, you know."
"I suppose we should let Fannie bleed to death, then?" suggested Rosemary, her great eyes snapping fire. "Fannie won't hold still herself and not one of you has the nerve to hold her steady and yet you stand there and make a fuss because a boy may see you without your shoes and stockings on. If you're going to be ashamed of anything, Nina Edmonds, be ashamed of being a coward!"
Nina flushed angrily, but Rosemary was trying to pull Fannie back on the bank and paid no further attention to her. Fannie fought off any attempt to touch her and she cried and groaned without a moment's pause. Rosemary, straightening up after a hard and ineffectual tussle, was relieved to see Bessie running toward them, followed by a string of boys, Jack Welles in advance. Bessie's cries had reached them long before she came to the field and they had correctly interpreted her frantic appeals for help.
"Oh, Jack, I'm so glad you've come!" cried Rosemary. "Help me get Fannie out on the bank. She's cut her foot badly and she won't let me touch her, to tie it up."
Will Mears, Fannie's brother, panted up and when he saw his sister and understood that she was hurt, he bent down and lifted her out with one swift, strong pull.
"Gee, you have cut yourself!" he said in distress as he saw the injured foot.
"Hush up!" said Jack sternly, as the girls began to shriek again. "Go away, if you're afraid to look. Rosemary knows what to do, don't you, Rosemary? Tell us how to help you."
"Hold her still," directed Rosemary, frantically calling on her memory for Doctor Hugh's first-aid lessons. "I'll have to wash it out the best way I can, but I think I can stop the bleeding. Then we'll have to get her to a doctor."
"I'll hold her," said Will Mears grimly. "You go ahead."