The boat came into view. Taking a deep breath, Penny ducked under water. Opening her eyes, she could see the blurred, dark bottom of the craft moving slowly toward her, so close she could have reached out and touched it.
Her breath began to grow short. The boat barely seemed to move. Penny’s lungs felt as if they were ready to burst, but still she remained under water.
Then the men had passed, and she dared raise her head for an instant to gulp in air. The boat reached the end of the trail through the grass that Penny herself had made. There it halted, as Sweeper Joe and his companion, realizing they had lost their quarry, debated their next move.
“She was here a minute ago!” Sweeper Joe growled. “I caught a glimpse of her clothes, and saw the grass move. Where did she go?”
“She must have doubled back.”
With difficulty the men turned the boat around and rowed toward Penny again. When she dared wait no longer, she submerged again.
They passed her and she came up for air. A water snake slithered through the grass, almost touching her hand.
Startled, Penny leaped backwards, making an ugly, loud splash in the water. Slight as was the sound, it told the men where she hid. Turning in the boat, they saw her through the grass, and bore toward her again.
By this time, Penny actually enjoyed the desperate game of hide and seek, for so far, the advantage had been hers. She stood watching the boat until it came very close.
Then she dived, coming up directly underneath the craft. Getting her shoulder squarely under one side, she raised up, and with an ease that surprised her, upset the boat.