During the war they had served in a Hostess House while the boys, together with countless others of our fine American lads, sailed off across the ocean to fight for liberty.
Another summer they had spent at Wild Rose Lodge, a lovely spot hidden deep in the woods where they became interested in a poor old man who thought his two sons had been killed in the war.
In the volume directly preceding this, entitled “The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle,” these girls had had one of their most interesting adventures. Mrs. Nelson, Betty’s mother, through the death of a relative, had become the owner of a ranch.
The most important thing about this ranch—in the estimation of the girls, at least—was the fact that it was situated right in the midst of a great gold-mining district. How the girls with Mr. and Mrs. Nelson went to the ranch, spending a glorious few weeks in the saddle, and how gold was finally found on the ranch is told of in detail in that volume.
And now we turn once more to the present with Betty Nelson, the Little Captain, saving her chums from the peril of collision with the great river steamer General Pershing.
As for Betty, although the girls heaped her with their praises, she had never felt less like a heroine in her life.
Scarcely knowing what she did, she turned the nose of the little boat back toward Deepdale. The thought was unpleasant that once more they would be forced to pass through that narrow channel, bounded on either side by the rocky shore.
However, this time there was no General Pershing bearing relentlessly down upon them and they passed through the dangerous spot without further mishap.
“Goodness, I’m glad that’s over!” said Grace, relaxing once more in her seat, her voice still tremulous.
“We couldn’t possibly have met that old boat in a worse place,” said Mollie, glaring resentfully after the General Pershing, whose bulk was diminishing rapidly in the distance.