CHAPTER XVII
THE CAVE-IN
There was no time to think of wet garments as Nancy raced after Tedtoward the sand dunes.
"Quick," he urged. "They're the little fellows, Billy and Jack, and theymust be under the sand."
Just beyond the trees and undergrowth that surrounds Oak's Pond, astretch of sand hills offered the youngsters an ideal playground. A fewscrubby pines managed to draw from the dry soil enough vitality for avery much impoverished growth, and it was from the direction of thetrees that the feeble call was now heard, at protracted intervals.
"There!" pointed out Ted. "There's the shack. They must be in a cave-innear it."
His surmise proved correct, for quickly as brother and sister couldreach the spot, they found every evidence of a cave-in and a sanddeluge.
"We're here," Ted called. "That you Billy?"
"Oh, yeah," came a pitiful little squeak. "We're smoth-rin' to death.Quick--please--quick."
"There's a board," Ted ordered, at once taking charge of the rescue."You can dig with that, Nan. I'll dig with my hands."
Exactly like a very eager dog that digs with all fours when he wants toget in or out of a pit, Ted went to work. The light sand flew in cloudsas he pawed and kicked, so that compared with his efforts Nancy'sboard-shovelling seemed provokingly slow.
"Oh, this is no good!" she finally burst out. "I can do that, too," andwithout a thought but for the rescue, Nancy dropped to the position Tedwas working in, and was soon digging and kicking until her clouds ofsand rivalled his.
"Oh! Oh!" came repeated calls and groans. "We--can't--breathe. Move theboard! It's pressing--"
"We're coming. We're coming," Nancy called back. "Don't get frightened;you can't smother now."
But it was not easy to reach the imprisoned youngsters, for a collapsedsand hill is as slippery to control as a rushing water fall. Every timethe rescuers thought themselves within reach of a board, an avalanche ofsand would tumble upon it and bury the end they tried to grasp.
At last Nancy grabbed hold of a big stick that protruded from the hill.
"Here Ted," she called. "Get this! It's under a board--"
Raising the stick carefully they did, at last, lay hold of one of thecollapsed boards, the "roof" under which the youngsters had been caught.
"Care-ful," warned Ted. "Raise it! Don't pull it out!"
It was heavy, for sand pressed itself into great weight, in spite of itsinfinitesimal atoms. At last the rescuers were able, with care andskill, to raise the board, then another, until finally the bare feet oftwo small badly frightened boys, led directly to the entire persons ofthe same little victims.
"Oh my! Mercy me!" gasped Nancy. "They do look awful, Ted! Quick let'sget them water!"
"Jack is the worst," replied her brother. "Nan, see if your skirt is wetyet. You could squeeze a little water on his face--"
The garment that had been dripping a few minutes before was still dampenough to permit of being "squeezed," and standing over the pale face oflittle Jack Baker, Nancy managed to extract some drops at least, to coaxback life into the almost unconscious boy.
Billy dragged himself out, although he was barely able to do so, and asquickly as little Jack showed signs of life, Ted and Nancy between themcarried him down to the water's edge.
They were just about to bathe his face and hands when a canoe driftedinto sight around the cove.
"Mr. Sanders!" called Ted. "There's Mr. Sanders," he repeated, and hisvoice was reaching the occupant of the canoe, for the bark was nowheaded directly for land.
First aid and other common sense treatment was soon being administeredto both Billy and Jack by Mr. Sanders, Ted and Nancy, and when thecave-in victims were finally entirely resuscitated, it was decided thatMr. Sanders should carry them up stream in his boat, and so enable themto easily reach their homes, at the head of the pond.
"You've been having some experience this morning," the man remarked toNancy as he waited for the boys to climb in the big long boat. "Can't Igive you and Ted a lift too? There's room enough if everybody obeyscanoe rules," he said pleasantly.
"Oh, that would be fine," Ted replied, while Nancy was thinking of whatto say. "Sis fell in the pond after her fishing tackle," Ted added."That was our first adventure."
"That must be what I picked up," interrupted Mr. Sanders pointing outNancy's pole with the cord wound around it, lying in the bottom of theboat.
"Yes, that's mine," admitted Nancy, "and I'm glad to get it back for itwas a special pole--one I got for a premium from a Boston store," sheexplained.
"Well, pile in," ordered Mr. Sanders, "and you little 'uns' had best notfrighten your folks with the cave-in story," he warned. "Better to becareful next time," he finished laughingly.
When all were securely ensconced in the long, graceful bark, Nancy wasgiven the extra paddle and allowed to ply it alongside Mr. Sanders. Inthe joy of that unusual privilege, (for she was seldom allowed in acanoe,) the accidents were quickly lost thought of, even Jack and Billyventuring to trail their fingers in the stream, while Ted sitting in thestern took chances on throwing out his line now and then just for thefun of feeling it pull through the quiet waters.
As they sailed along, conversation was rather scattered, consistingmainly of snatches of questions and answers between Nancy and Mr.Sanders. The two little boys had scarcely spoken since their rescue, andnow within sight of home, they were just beginning to assume normalcourage.
Suddenly Nancy started to titter. There was no apparent cause for herchange of mood, but the more she bit her lip, looked out toward shore,bent her head toward her paddle and otherwise strove to divert herself,the more the titter gathered and broke into a laugh, over her helplessfeatures.
"Funny, isn't it?" remarked Mr. Sanders drolly.
"Silly, but I just can't help laughing," she admitted. "It's at theidea--"
"I wonder if I couldn't guess," interrupted the man with the strongbrown arms. "It's about me, isn't it?"
"Yes," admitted Nancy, slowly.
"And about--about my supposed magic powers." He stopped and enjoyed alight laugh himself. "Wouldn't it be tragic if I should disappear justnow?" he said so suddenly, that Nancy jerked her paddle out of the waterand stared at him with a sort of guilty flush.
"The idea--" she faltered.
"Ha, ha, ha!" roared the big man swinging toward the shore where Jackand Billy were to land. "That's a great story, isn't it? But I'll tellyou," he lowered his voice in a tone of confidence, "I am altogether toblame for that fantastic yarn, but sometimes we have to let folks guesseven if they do make--spooks out of us." He laughed again and even thelittle boys were now being tempted to join in. "But I want to promiseyou and your brother this, Nancy," he said seriously. "You shall beamong the first to know the answer to the riddle of my magicdisappearance around the gray stone house."
"Thank you," Nancy managed to say, as Ted caught a strong little branchon shore, and helped land the canoe.