No doubt remained that one of the two girls clinging to the upturned boat was Marion Genevieve Chester. But while her companion saved strength by holding quietly and allowing the water to support as much of her weight as possible, Marion Genevieve not only exhausted herself by screaming, but in addition wasted her muscle reserve by striving vainly to pull herself higher out of the water.
The launch was now within twenty feet. It slowed down.
"Better be ready to go overboard, Roundy. Always the chance of an accident, you know."
Bunny had hardly given the warning when, with a last frantic cry, the girl threw up two wild arms and splashed back into the water.
"Go over, Roundy!"
Before her head could sink beneath the surface, the Scouts realized that something had happened to Roundy Magoon. Kicking wildly with his left leg, he had drawn back from the rail to the cockpit.
"Roundy!"
Marion Genevieve's pale face, washed over by a tiny ripple, slipped beneath the water.
Snarling as though a wild beast had attacked him, Roundy snatched at the coil of rope that Nap had accidentally kicked into his path. With his fingers, he tore at the hemp line that had snarled about his ankle.
The girl was above water again, coughing and spluttering and groping for some tangible support.