wait. You see the
wind is blowing on shore and--"

"No, it is blowing off toward the cove. The wind has shifted,"
answered Jane McCarthy. "But that doesn't help us a bit."

"Gather wood and build a fire," commanded Mrs. Livingston.

The Camp Girls hurriedly set about gathering fuel for a fire, but
having brought wood, the fuel refused to burn. The rain had thoroughly
soaked everything. The merest flicker of flame was all they were able
to get. They tried again and again, but with no better results,
finally giving up the attempt altogether.

"I am afraid we shall have to let it go," decided the Chief Guardian.
"A light would help so much, and, if the two girls are alive, would
serve as a guide for them."

Jane interrupted by uttering a shrill cry. She listened, but there was
no response. She cried out again and again, then finally gave up the
effort.

"I'm afraid they are gone," she moaned.

"Unless they were hurt when the wave struck them I do not believe they
are lost," said Miss Elting, with a calmness and hopefulness that she
really did not feel, though she dared not permit herself to admit that
Harriet and Grace really had been lost. "Both are excellent swimmers,
and Harriet never would give up so long as there was a breath of life
left in her body."

"But can't we do something?" pleaded Margery.

The Chief Guardian shook her head sadly.

"I fear we can not. You have but to look out there to know that any
efforts on our part would be futile."

Miss Elting suddenly cried out.

"Girls, what can we be thinking of? We must patrol the beach. The sea
is going down a little. Divide up into pairs; keep as close to the
shore as possible without being caught by a wave; then search every
foot of the beach all along. I will go up the beach. Hazel, you come
with me. Mrs. Livingston, will you have the other girls assist us?"

The Chief Guardian gave the orders promptly. Fifty girls began running
along the shore. Mrs. Livingston quickly called them back, dividing
the party into groups of two. She was very business-like and calm,
which, in a measure, served to calm the girls themselves.

"Look carefully," she cautioned. "The missing girls may have been
washed ashore; they may be found nearly drowned, and it may not be too
late to revive them. Make all haste!"

There was no delay. The Camp Girls took up their work systematically.
A thorough search was made of the beach in both directions, the
patrols eventually r