If ever they had occasion to summon and use courage, the scouts, both boys and girls, had need of it now. Along the boardwalk the excitement was so intense as to cause danger of children being trampled on, and in this emergency those Girl Scouts not on the pier helped the Boy Scouts in efforts to prevent disaster.
But it was that tiny spot on the water that held the crowd with a bated breath.
"She must drown! Oh, that lovely girl!" they were gasping.
"Louise won't drown," said Julia, her face white as the muslin in her flag.
"No, Weasie can swim," Helen assured her, holding her arm very tight, and begging comfort in the embrace.
"And we can't even get near her," moaned Julia, who just then had rescued a very little tot from a plunge down the high steps into the street.
"The line, the boat, they have her!" came another shout, and Julia wanted to sink on her knees.
"Oh, is the boat there? Can you see, Helen?" she begged.
"Yes, yes, it's the life boat, they have come! Didn't it seem an eternity?"
Instantly the accident occurred police officers had roped off the end of the pier to prevent any one rushing in, and now there stood at the steps the formidable ambulance.