The Guide's example encouraged the three girls who hesitated on the verge of the pool. Jane had been swinging on a pliable branch of the willow, enjoying herself immensely. Zan now called to her to come in with them and show how far she could swim. Jane in her eagerness to race with Zan, let go the willow before her footing was quite firm on the bank, with the result that she stumbled and fell against the three girls huddled on the wet grass. Before any one knew how it all happened, Jane, and the three girls, went pell-mell into the water, creating a mighty shower of water everywhere.
"O-ooh! Help! Murder! S-swish—sc-cswash!" and other queer sounds came from the struggling group of girls. Miss Miller had just gained the opposite bank and had seated herself on the grass when the funny accident took place. Zan had been treading water and had missed the slide, but jumped up at the shouts.
"Oh, what a funny motion picture that would have made!" gasped the Guide as soon as she could speak.
Jane was swimming over to join Zan, and the three soaking non-combatants, tried to force their fists into their eyes vainly hoping to expel the water. Ears were singing, and noses snuffling and they looked like anything but joyous pleasure-seeking maidens.
After a few minutes, however, the fear of drowning faded with the sense of feeling their feet on the rock which was only a depth of a foot or so, where they had scrambled up. The wild laughter of Zan, Jane and the Guide did much to reassure them that life still held on with a firm grip for them.
"As long as you're all soaked, why not come in gracefully?" called Zan, taking a dive and swimming under water to the spot where Jane rose to rest. In a few seconds Jane gave a frenzied scream and went head down, heels up, in the water.
"Oh, look! Jane's sinking!" cried Elena.
But Zan's head appeared alongside Jane's heels, and in another moment, the victim of Zan's mischief bobbed up.
As her head appeared again, Miss Miller called, amid spasms of laughter, "Right position! Front! Mark time!"
Zan was the only one who thoroughly enjoyed the command so often obeyed at school, while Jane snuffed angrily, "Just wait!" The three deluged girls were too busy trying to lower their bodies gradually, and still keep their feet flat on the rock.