She lifted Lawford
out of the girl's arms and into the skiff with the dexterity of one
trained in hauling in halibut, for Betty had spent her younger years on
the Banks with her father.
Louise scrambled into the skiff without assistance. Betty was already
at the oars and Louise took the injured head of the man in her lap. He
began to struggle back to life again.
"I--I'm all right," he muttered. "Sorry made such a--a
fool--of--myself."
"Hush up, _you_!" snapped Betty. "I'd ought to have seed to this
skiff. Then you wouldn't have got battered like you did." A tear ran
frankly down Betty's nose and dripped off its end. "If anything really
bad had happened to you, Lawford, I'd a-never forgive myself. I
thought you was a goner for sure."
"Thanks to you, I'm not, I guess, Betty," he said more cheerfully. He
did not know who had jumped overboard to his rescue.
For some reason the girl was suddenly embarrassed by this fact.
The skiff reached the plunging sloop and Louise got inboard and aided
Betty to get Lawford over the rail.
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