“I think we’ve ‘done noble,’ all of us,” said Marie. The canoes were paddling off by now, but the going was slow, and they could still talk.
“What did the float get?” asked Winona. “You know we were blown off in the dark, and lost track of events till the marshal came after us.”
“Second,” answered both girls together.
“You were the belle of the ball,” added Marie.
“Well, I don’t think we did so badly,” declared Edith. “A first, second and a fourth prize all to one camp. I hope nobody thinks we got more than our share.”
“We didn’t,” said Winona. “Oh, I’m so happy!”
“I’m rather pleased myself,” said Billy’s quiet voice from the other end of the canoe.
But it was not until the royal float had been escorted home, and everything was broken up, and Tom and Billy were paddling Winona back to camp, that he said what he really thought.
“I’m mighty glad you got that first prize,” he said. “You deserved it if anybody ever did, for being such a little sport about dropping out of the float. I’d blow a lot of that money in right away if I were you, to congratulate myself.”
“After I’ve paid back what I owe certain people,” said Winona, “I shall divide with the Camp treasury. Even then I’ll have a lot more than I ever thought of getting.”