Not Quite Eighteen

  DOLLY'S LESSON.

  "What is presence of mind, any way?" demanded little Dolly Ware, as shesat, surrounded by her family, watching the sunset.

  The sunset hour is best of all the twenty-four in Nantucket. At no othertime is the sea so blue and silvery, or the streaks of purple and palegreen which mark the place of the sand-spits and shallows that underliethe island waters so defined, or of such charming colors. The wind blowsacross softly from the south shore, and brings with it scents of heathand thyme, caught from the high upland moors above the town. The sundips down, and sends a flash of glory to the zenith; and small pinkclouds curl up about the rising moon, fondle her, as it were, and seemto love her. It is a delightful moment, and all Nantucket dwellers learnto watch for it.

  It was the custom of the Ware family, as soon as they had despatchedtheir supper,--a very hearty supper, suited to young appetites sharpenedby sea air;--of chowder, or hot lobster, or a newly caught blue-fish,with piles of brown bread and butter, and unlimited milk,--to rush out_en masse_ to the piazza of their little cottage, and "attend to thesunset," as though it were a family affair. It was the hour when jokeswere cracked and questions asked, and when Mamma, who was apt to bepretty busy during the daytime, had leisure to answer them.

  Dolly was youngest of the family,--a thin, wiry child, tall for heryears, with a brown bang lying like a thatch over a pair of brightinquisitive eyes, and a thick pig-tail braided down her back. Phyllis,the next in age, was short and fat; then came Harry, then Erma, justsixteen (named after a German great-grandmother), and, last of all,Jack, tallest and jolliest of the group, who had just "passed hispreliminaries," and would enter college next year. Mrs. Ware might beexcused for the little air of motherly pride with which she gazed at herfive. They were fine children, all of them,--frank, affectionate,generous, with bright minds and healthy bodies.

  "Presence of mind sometimes means absence of body," remarked Jack, inanswer to Dolly's question.

  "I was speaking to Mamma," said Dolly, with dignity. "I wasn't askingyou."

  "I am aware of the fact, but I overlooked the formality, for once. Whatmakes you want to know, midget?"

  "There was a story in the paper about a girl who hid the kerosene canwhen the new cook came, and it said she showed true presence of mind,"replied Dolly.

  "Oh, that was only fun! It didn't mean anything."

  "Isn't there any such thing, then?"

  "Why, of course there is. Picking up a shell just before it bursts in ahospital tent, and throwing it out of the door, is presence of mind."

  "Yes, and tying a string round the right place on your leg when you'vecut an artery," added Harry, eagerly.

  "Swallowing a quart of whiskey when a rattlesnake bites you," suggestedJack.

  "Saving the silver, instead of the waste-paper basket, when the house ison fire," put in Erma.

  Dolly looked from one to the other.

  "What funny things!" she cried. "I don't believe you know anything aboutit. Mamma, tell me what it really means."

  "I think," said Mrs. Ware, in those gentle tones to which her childrenalways listened, "that presence of mind means keeping cool, and havingyour wits about you, at critical moments. Our minds--our reasoningfaculties, that is--are apt to be stunned or shocked when we aresuddenly frightened or excited; they leave us, and go away, as it were,and it is only afterward that we pick ourselves up, and realize what weought to have done. To act coolly and sensibly in the face of danger isa fine thing, and one to be proud of."

  "Should you be proud of me if I showed presence of mind?" asked Dolly,leaning her arms on her mother's lap.

  "Very proud," replied Mrs. Ware, smiling as she stroked the brownhead,--"very proud, indeed."

  "I mean to do it," said Dolly, in a firm tone.

  There was a general laugh.

  "How will you go to work?" asked Jack. "Shall I step down to Hussey's,and get a shell for you to practise on?"

  "She'll be setting the house on fire some night, to show what she cando," added Harry, teasingly.

  "I shall do no such thing," protested Dolly, indignantly. "How foolishyou are! You don't understand a bit! I don't want to make things happen;but, if they do happen, I shall try to keep cool and have my wits aboutme, and perhaps I shall."

  "It would be lovely to be brave and do heroic things," remarked Phyllis.

  "You could at least be brave enough to use your common sense," said hermother. "Yours is a very good resolution, Dolly dear, and I hope you'llkeep to it."

  "I will," said Dolly, and marched undauntedly off to bed. Later, shefound herself repeating, as if it were a lesson to be learned, "Presenceof mind means keeping cool, and having your wits about you;" and shesaid it over and over every morning and evening after that, as shebraided her hair. Phyllis overheard, and laughed at her a little; butDolly didn't mind being laughed at, and kept on rehearsing her sentenceall the same.

  It is not given to all of us to test ourselves, and discover by actualexperiment just how much a mental resolution has done for us. Dolly,however, was to have the chance. The bathing-beach at Nantucket is aparticularly safe one, and the water through the summer months most warmand delicious. All the children who lived on the sandy bluff known as"The Cliff" were in the habit of bathing; and the daily dip taken incompany was the chief event of the day, in their opinion. The littleWares all swam like ducks; and no one thought of being nervous orapprehensive if Harry struck out boldly for the jetty, or if Erma andPhyllis were seen side by side at a point far beyond the depth of eitherof them, or little Dolly took a "header" into deep water off an oldboat.

  It happened, about two months after the talk on the piazza, that Dollywas bathing with Kitty Allen, a small neighbor of her own age. Kitty hadjust been learning to swim, and was very proud of her new accomplishment;but she was by no means so sure of herself or so much at home in thewater as Dolly, who had learned three years before, and practisedcontinually.

  The two children had swam out for quite a distance; then, as they turnedto go back, Kitty suddenly realized her distance from the shore, and wasseized with immediate and paralyzing terror.

  "Oh, oh!" she gasped. "How far out we are! We shall never get back inthe world! We shall be drowned! Dolly Ware, we shall certainly bedrowned!"

  She made a vain clutch at Dolly, and, with a wild scream, went down, anddisappeared.

  Dolly dived after her, only to be met by Kitty coming up to the surfaceagain, and frantically reaching out, as drowning persons do, forsomething to hold by. The first thing she touched was Dolly's largepig-tail, and, grasping that tight, she sank again, dragging Dolly downwith her, backward.

  It was really a hazardous moment. Many a good swimmer has lost his lifeunder similar circumstances. Nothing is more dangerous than to be caughtand held by a person who cannot swim, or who is too much disabled byfear to use his powers.

  And now it was that Dolly's carefully conned lesson about presence ofmind came to her aid. "Keep cool; have your wits about you," rangthrough her ears, as, held in Kitty's desperate grasp, she was draggeddown, down into the sea. A clear sense of what she ought to do flashedacross her mind. She must escape from Kitty and hold her up, but notgive Kitty any chance to drag her down again. As they rose, she pulledher hair away with a sudden motion, and seized Kitty by the collar ofher bathing-dress, behind.

  "Float, and I'll hold you up," she gasped. "If you try to catch hold ofme again, I'll just swim off, and leave you, and then you _will_ bedrowned, Kitty Allen."

  Kitty was too far gone to make any very serious struggle. Then Dolly,striking out strongly, and pushing Kitty before her, sent one wild cryfor help toward the beach.

  The cry was heard. It seemed to Dolly a terribly long time before anyanswer came, but it was in reality less than five minutes before a boatwas pushed into the water. Dolly saw it rowing toward her, and held onbravely. "Be cool; have your wits about you," she said to herself. Andshe kept firm grasp of her mind, and would not let the fright, of whoseexistence she was conscio
us, get possession of her.

  Oh, how welcome was the dash of the oars close at hand, how gladly sherelinquished Kitty to the strong arms that lifted her into the boat!But when the men would have helped her in too, she refused.

  "No, thank you; I'll swim!" she said. It seemed nothing to get herselfto shore, now that the responsibility of Kitty and Kitty's weight weretaken from her. She swam pluckily along, the boat keeping near, lest herstrength should give out, and reached the beach just as Jack, thatmoment aware of the situation, was dashing into the water after her. Shewas very pale, but declared herself not tired at all, and she dressedand marched sturdily up the cliff, refusing all assistance.

  There was quite a little stir among the summer colony over theadventure, and Mrs. Ware had many compliments paid her for her child'sbehavior. Mr. Allen came over, and had much to say about theextraordinary presence of mind which Dolly had shown.

  "It was really remarkable," he said. "If she had fought with Kitty, orif she had tried to swim ashore and had not called for assistance, theymight easily have both been drowned. It is extraordinary that a child ofthat age should keep her head, and show such coolness and decision."

  "It wasn't remarkable at all," Dolly declared, as soon as he was gone."It was just because you said that on the piazza that night."

  "Said what?"

  "Why, Mamma, surely you haven't forgotten. It was that about presence ofmind, you know. I taught it to myself, and have said it over and overever since,--'Keep cool; have your wits about you.' I said it in thewater when Kitty was pulling me under."

  "Did you, really?"

  "Indeed, I did. And then I seemed to know what to do."

  "Well, it was a good lesson," said Mrs. Ware, with glistening eyes. "Iam glad and thankful that you learned it when you did, Dolly."

  "Are you proud of me?" demanded Dolly.

  "Yes, I am proud of you."

  This capped the climax of Dolly's contentment. Mamma was proud of her;she was quite satisfied.