Overcoming her fear, she again leaned over the edge of the pool but with great caution. This time she could make out the alligator’s form distinctly.
“Horrible!” she shuddered. “I wish you hadn’t brought me—”
Her words ended in a little wail as a tiny object splashed into the water directly beneath her.
“My cameo pin!” she cried. “Oh, Penny, it slipped from my dress and now it’s gone!”
CHAPTER
15
A CAMEO PIN
In dismay, the two girls watched the trinket settle slowly to the bottom of the pool.
“Oh, my beautiful pin,” moaned Louise. “Aunt Lucinda gave it to me for my birthday. I wouldn’t have lost it for anything in the world.”
“I guess it was my fault,” Penny said self-accusingly.
“No, it wasn’t. I must have been careless about fastening the clasp. When I leaned over it slipped off. Well, it’s gone, and that’s that.”
The cameo pin had fallen into the deepest part of the pool not far from where the alligator lay. The girls were unable to see it plainly because of the lily pads and plants which cluttered the water.