A Little Florida Lady Part 21

"Don, Don, save her."

Poor Mrs. Davenport sprang to her feet in a frenzy of terror. It was as she expected. She saw her beloved Beth sinking. She was so horrified that for a second or two she could not cry out.

Harvey was near Beth, but made no effort to rescue her.

"Harvey, Harvey," screamed Mrs. Davenport, "save her."

But even as she cried another was swimming to the rescue, and this was faithful Don. He had no idea of letting his beloved little mistress drown. He grabbed her by her bathing suit and swam towards the sh.o.r.e with her.

"Why, Mrs. Davenport, we didn't think you'd be frightened. It's only play," called Harvey.

How proud the delighted dog was. He thought he had really saved Beth's life. He did not know that she was just pretending for the fun of having him come to her.

Day after day, the children struggled to learn to swim, but with rather poor success.

At last, they thought of trying light logs to keep them up. This proved quite successful. They placed the log across their chests, and under their armpits, and then made their hands and feet go. This was quite like swimming. After a time they tried it even in the deep water inside the boat house.

One day Beth ran down ahead of the others. Don, for a wonder, was not with her that morning. She thought she would have some fun all by herself.

Her log was in the boat house. She fearlessly jumped into deep water with it, but somehow, she got beyond the range of the walk. In trying to paddle back to it, her log slipped away from her. Then she grew very much frightened.

It was a case of swim or sink. Terrified as she was, she had presence of mind to keep her hands and feet going. To her surprise, she did not sink. She had only a little ways to go and made it without very much effort.

When the other children came, she was all excitement.

"Just see. I can swim, I can swim."

Beth hastened to show off her wonderful accomplishment. She was disgusted when Harvey laughed at her.

"Why, Beth, you swim in regular dog fas.h.i.+on. You claw the water just like Don. You ought to go like this."

She tried striking out with her arms as he bid, but could not swim that way. Whereupon, she declared:

"I like swimming dog fas.h.i.+on best."

One evening Mr. Davenport came home and said:

"Mary, how would you like to go down to the seash.o.r.e for a week?"

"And take us?" exclaimed Beth.

Mr. Davenport was in a teasing mood.

"I will take Marian because she has been good, but as to you, I must find out first from mamma if any bad girl has been around here lately.

We can't take bad girls with us."

Beth held her breath for her mother's answer.

"Well, James, for a wonder we have had an unusually good girl here for the past week. If we go, she may go too."

Beth danced a jig in the intensity of her joy.

"Where are we going, papa?"

"Down to Fort George Island, which is at the mouth of the St. Johns.

We will leave to-morrow morning. Can you be ready by that time, Mary?"

"I guess so."

Mrs. Davenport was accustomed to her husband's desire to start at a moment's notice. He had made a like suggestion many times before.

At Beth's earnest solicitation, she was allowed to take Don with her.

The next morning, when they boarded the boat for Fort George's, Beth was very much surprised to behold Julia.

"Why, Julia, how nice of you to come down to see us off, but how did you know we were going?"

"I didn't come to see you off; I'm going to Fort George, too. Your papa was over last night and persuaded papa and mamma to go."

"Oh goody, goody, goody."

Julia and Beth took possession of the boat from the first moment. They inspected it from one end to the other. They made friends with the captain and those under him. They went up even to the pilot house and helped run the boat, or, at least, they thought they were helping. The morning proved a very happy one for them.

The trip delighted their parents also. They were content to sit still and watch the St. Johns as it curved and widened on its course to the ocean. There is hardly a more picturesque river in America.

As they neared the sea, its briny odor was wafted to them by the breeze. Great sand dunes rose on both sides of the river.

Upon reaching Fort George, the Davenport party drove in the 'bus to the hotel, over the hardest of sh.e.l.l roads. Magnificent palms lined the way on both sides. All the foliage, in fact, was extremely luxuriant.

The island was more tropical than anything that the Davenports had seen, so far, in Florida.

A gentleman in the 'bus proffered the information to Mr. Davenport that the island had once been visited by Talleyrand. He said it had been owned by French grandees who carried on an extensive slave trade from the island.

When questioned about the mounds of sh.e.l.ls that are so numerous at Fort George, the gentleman explained that for many centuries the Indians had congregated on the island in oyster season, and held high festivals.

They probably feasted on oysters and corn, and these mounds were the result.

The week that followed was one of almost unalloyed bliss to Julia and Beth. They got into very little mischief, although they simply lived out of doors, and up in the trees.

Each morning, a number of the people from the hotel went in surf bathing. Beth was always one of the party. Mrs. Davenport did not care to go in, but she generally sat on the beach and watched the bathers.

Since Beth had learned how to swim, she caused her mother much anxiety.

She was very venturesome, and would often swim far out beyond her depth.

Don did not enjoy salt water as much as he did fresh, and therefore he often rested beside Mrs. Davenport.

One morning only children went in bathing. All the men were away fis.h.i.+ng, and the women did not care for the sport. Mrs. Davenport was unusually anxious, and she warned Beth to stay near sh.o.r.e with the other children. Beth obeyed pretty well at first, but before she knew it she was out where the water was over her head.

"Beth, it's time to come in," called her mother.

Beth raised her head and spurted out some water.