Not till she was once more on dry land did Marion Genevieve seem to come fully to herself. Then, while her relatives were still trying to thank the patrol, she suddenly remarked, "Why—why all of you are wet!"
"Couldn't help it," said the cheerful Specs. "We all dove off the boat and forgot to take our umbrellas."
There were several emotions trying to express themselves on Marion Genevieve's face, but all she managed to say was, "I—I thank you—all of you! I'm very, very grateful."
"Oh, that's all right, Marion Genevieve," Specs laughed.
The girl's glance wavered. She picked at her wet dress. "I—Please!" she said imploringly. And then it came out, as if it wrenched her very soul. "My name isn't Marion Genevieve," she told them. "It's Mary; my middle name is Jennie. I was called after two aunts of mine."
She was staring straight at Bunny now. He felt his cheeks redden. It was a hard position in which to put a fellow, he told himself, and probably he'd say the wrong thing. But when he spoke, it was honestly and naturally.
"I think Mary is a nice name," he said.
The girl's low "Thank you!" meant a good deal more to the Scouts than they were able to understand just then. Afterward, Specs tried to put it into words.
"She said it," he told the others, "as if she was sorry she had been so—so snippish to us, and as if she wanted us to forget and make up and—and everything. I'll bet you Mary's going to be a regular girl after this. I like her about twice as much as I ever did before."