"Then I got reckless, I think. I said my girls could beat his boys in
the water--that we could swim better--I meant more usefully, not just
faster, in a race, because I think they'd beat us easily in just a
plain race. And I'm afraid I boasted a little."

"I bet you didn't; I bet we can do just as well as any old Boy Scouts!"
exclaimed Dolly. "I wish we just had the chance, that's all."

"Well, you have," said Eleanor, with a smile. "That's what I'm trying to
tell you, girls. Mr. Hastings is over at Third Lake right now with one
patrol of his troop. He got there yesterday and the way I happened to
hear about it was that he was on his way over yesterday morning--he got
in ahead of the boys--to help us look for Dolly and Bessie, when they
were found."

"Oh, that's fine! And shall we have that field day?"

"Later on, before we go home, yes. But he began teasing me again
yesterday, and I told him we'd have a water carnival any time he wanted
to bring his boys over. And he said they'd come Saturday."

"We'll have to get ready and show them what we can do, then," said
Margery Burton, with determination in her voice. "My brother's a Boy
Scout, and I know just what they're like; they think we're just the same
as all the other girls they know. I tell you what would be fun; to get
up a baseball team."

"Maybe we'll try that later," said Eleanor. "But right now we want to be
ready for Saturday. So I'll teach you everything I can. And I'm quite