On, on they came—almost abreast now. The boys, tired from the long chase, were resting, gathering strength for the last spurt.
The finish line had been very conveniently marked by a slender tree which had evidently been torn down in some terrific storm and now lay half on the shore and half upon the water. This, then, was their goal.
Conway was the first to see them coming. "Look, Nita!" he cried, seizing his sister's arm and drawing her to the edge of the water. "From the way they are all lined up I should judge this is nobody's race yet. That's the kind of a thing I enjoy—where there is occupation at the end. And look——"
"Look at Betty," cried Anita, interrupting him. "She can swim better than I can, and I thought I was pretty good." There was no conceit in this remark—it was simply a statement of fact.
Out on the water the girls and boys knew the time had come when they must show what was in them. Grace and Amy, with the discomfited Will, had fallen to the rear, and the race lay between the other five. Allen was leading, and the two young judges on the bank had just decided that either he or Frank would be the winner. Then it happened! The two girls gathered all their energy, that splendid reserve strength they had kept so well in check—summoned every ounce of vitality they had and gave it full rein.
Their muscles, trained to outdoor life, gallantly responded to the call. They passed first Frank, then Allen, who stared after them stupidly. You see, the boys were not believers in miracles. However, they rallied their reserved strength and shot ahead until they were even with the girls again.
The goal was close before them. Now, if ever, must come the last desperate spurt. Could they make it? They must! they must! The thought kept hammering itself over and over in the girls' consciousness. They were so near now—they couldn't lose—oh, they couldn't!
And the girls were right. Anita almost fell into the water in her excitement as the four swept on, swimming as though they had just touched the water.
"Mollie! Betty!" she cried. "Go it—for the cause!"
Whether this encouragement reached the ears it was intended for is doubtful. Suffice it to say, the girls followed her instructions to the letter.