"No, wait a minute. I think I can reach you with the board."
Dragging the board after her, Jo made her way cautiously around the swamp, feeling each foot of ground before she ventured to rest her weight upon it.
"There now!" she cried when she had come as near to her chums as she dared. "I'll shove it toward you, Nan, and you see if you can catch hold!"
Nan could not—quite. But after a desperate effort she managed to force herself forward the required inch or two until she felt her fingers upon the plank.
"Now, Sadie, see if you can't catch hold of Nan. Then I can pull you both out!"
Sadie struggled hard and finally managed to catch Nan's outstretched hand.
"Now!" cried Jo, clutching her end of the board firmly. "Heave ho, and I'll pull you ashore!"
There was a good deal of scrambling and puffing and panting before Nan, holding fast to the board, felt her foot strike upon solid ground.
The rest was easy, and it was only a moment before Sadie also had joined the two disheveled, mud-drenched girls on the edge of the swamp.
They eyed each other oddly for a moment, then broke into hysterical giggles.