Anita almost fell into the water in her
excitement as the four swept on, swimming as though they had just
touched the water.
"Mollie! Betty!" she cried. "Go it--for the cause!"
Whether this encouragement reached the ears it was intended for is
doubtful. Suffice it to say, the girls followed her instructions to the
letter.
Conway stretched forward eagerly as the swimmers rushed on toward the
mark. Four hands closed over the fallen tree trunk almost at the same
instant--but not quite. Mollie reached the goal a fraction of a second
ahead--the race was hers.
As the dripping contestants drew themselves up upon the bank, Anita and
Conway rushed forward eagerly. "Mollie had it!" they cried together, and
Nita added:
"I don't see how you ever did it--it was the closest thing I ever saw."
For a few seconds the swimmers were too spent even to congratulate the
winner. But when they did recover sufficient breath, they fairly
overwhelmed her with praises. As Roy had said, "they were nothing if not
sports."
"It was lucky you did have a judge, or, I should say judges." Conway
glanced apologetically toward his sister.
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