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Page 40
When nine o'clock came, or ten, as the case might be, the order
was given, "Bring out the beds!" Straightway the boys made broad
their backs, and walked about like long-legged tortoises,
distributing mattresses here and there. The three girls slept in
the bedroom which opened off the living-room; the boys and Roger
carried their beds into the second tent, or under the trees, or
into the boat-house, as fancy suggested, and the wind favoured.
Then blankets were unrolled, and the business of bed-making went
on merrily.
As I said, it was clear moonlight when the girls went to bed; but
somewhere in the middle of the night Hildegarde was waked by a
rustle and a roar. Visions of lions ramped before her still-
dreaming eyes; she shuddered awake, to find a gale raging round
the camp. Outside was one continuous roar of waves on the shore,
while overhead the wind clutched and tore at the branches, and
shook the frail hut to its foundations. Hildegarde lay still and
listened, with a luxurious sense of safety amid the wild tumult.
"But I am safe, and live at home!" she said softly. Then suddenly
a thought came, like a cold hand laid on her heart, and she sat up
in bed, her breath coming quickly.
"Bell!" she said, under breath, that she might not wake little
Kitty, "Bell, wake up!"
"What is it?" asked Bell, turning drowsily on her side. "Not our
turn to get breakfast, you know."
"There is a storm! Hear it raging outside. Oh, Bell! the birch
canoe! Can you remember whether we put her in the boat-house when
we came in from paddling?"
Bell was wide awake now, and on her feet in an instant.
"We did not!" she said, searching frantically for her clothes. "My
dear, we left her; don't you remember? The boys were just cutting
wood, and we thought we would wait till they finished, and then,--
what a wretch I am! What IS happening to this skirt?"
"I am putting it on too," said Hildegarde. "It is mine. Here is
yours. Now a jacket; there, we are all right. Is any one sleeping
on the piazza?"
"No, they all went up to the pine grove to-night, or last night,
or whenever it was. Have you any idea what time it is? Carefully
now, Hilda. I will open the door, and you must be ready to help me
shut it."
The two girls stepped out into the black night, and the wind
clutched them. They were thrown violently against the wall of the
hut, but contrived to shut the door and make it fast; then,
bending low and holding by each other, they crept along toward the
boat-house. The waves were dashing against the rocks, the spray
flew in their faces, half blinding them; but it was not very dark,
as there was a moon behind the clouds, and they could see their
way dimly.
"Do you think we shall find her?" asked Hildegarde under her
breath.
"I can't hear!" shouted Bell.
"Do you think we shall find her?"
Hildegarde thought she was shrieking, but her friend only shook
her head.
"That comes of asking stupid questions," said Hildegarde to
herself; and she lowered her head and fought her way on in
silence.
Now, groping with their hands, they found the wall of the
boathouse, and crept along in its lee, sheltered somewhat from the
blast; but when they stepped out on the wharf, the wind seized
them with such fury that Hildegarde tottered, staggered back a
step, and felt the ground slip from under her. Another moment, and
she would have been in the wild water; but Bell held her with a
grasp of steel, and with one strong heave lifted her bodily to the
wharf again. Then she shook her gently, "to bring back your
nerve!" she shouted in explanation; and the next moment recoiled
herself with a shriek that rang above the roar of wind and wave.
Up from the wharf rose two forms, blacker than the blackness of
night and storm, and confronted them. The two girls clung close
together.
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