"If you're all ready to go," suggested Fred, "we'll start right away. We have been waiting until you were ready."
"That's very good of you," again said the girl quickly. "I haven't thanked my life preservers yet for what they did. If you had not been there where you were the accident never would have happened," she added boldly.
For a moment the four Go Ahead boys stared blankly at the girl, who apparently had forgotten all their efforts to rescue her and her companion. Fortunately for the boys they had had other suits of clothing in the cabin of their boat so that all four now were clothed and dry. But to have all their heroism forgotten and to be blamed for being the cause of the accident was something which had not even remotely occurred to them.
"Yes," declared the girl, "if you had left us alone we wouldn't have tipped over."
"What was it we did?" demanded George.
"Why you came up with your old motor-boat and when I tried to be polite, Mildred thought she had to do the same thing, and then over we went."
"Well, that was the time when it was fortunate for you that we happened to be nearby," said John dryly.
"That's just what you had to do; you couldn't have helped yourselves."
In spite of the words of the animated girl, who apparently now had recovered her spirits and strength, it was plain to the boys that she was genuinely grateful for the rescue which they had made. She was a deeply interested spectator of the work of the boys in casting off and starting their swift boat and even insisted upon being permitted to steer part of the way.
"Have you joined the yacht club yet?" she inquired.