p, to the big rock whereon Blue Bonnet was perched, laughing
at them; but the Hellespont could hardly have loomed wider to the
anxious eyes of Hero, than did this narrow channel now appear to the
four novices.

"All right," agreed Sarah with dogged determination. She shut her
eyes, screwed up her face, spread her arms, struck out with her feet
and started. If a hippopotamus had suddenly slipped off the bank there
could hardly have been a greater splash; Sarah kicked madly, puffing,
panting, and churning the water into foam. All to no avail. Before
she had gone a yard she sank like a paving-stone to the bottom of the
pool. Blue Bonnet, convulsed with laughter, went down after her, but
it took the combined efforts of herself and Kitty to bring the
struggling Sarah to the surface. Sputtering and choking and much
puzzled over the failure of her scientific method, Sarah retired to
the bank to get her breath.

"Kitty's turn," she said inexorably as soon as she could speak.

Kitty found the bottom no less speedily, but scrambled up by herself
and went at it again until she was able to progress almost two feet
before going down to "call on the fishes," as Blue Bonnet said. It
remained for Debby to cover herself with glory. Disdaining science and
the instructions of the teacher, she took a lesson from Nature and
struck out like a puppy. Straight to Blue Bonnet she swam, struggled
up on the big boulder beside her, gasping and breathless, but
delighted at her own success.

"Bravo!" cried the girls, quite overcome with admiration.

Emboldened by her triumph the others tried again and again, and while
not wildly successful were so far encouraged that they lost their
first great fear of the water. And that, as every swimmer knows, is
the first step towards victory.

"After you've all learned," said Blue Bonnet a little later, as they
all sat on the veranda rail drying their hair, "we'll go over to the
reservoir above Jonah some time and have a real swim. That is, if
Grandmother's willing." She was glad she had remembered to add that
last provision; it would have won an approving look from Aunt Lucinda.

"Then we'll have to have real suits," remarked Kitty, beginning then
and there to plan a fetching costume for the occasion. "I'll write
home for one right away."

When the plan was laid before Senora she made a brilliant suggestion.
"Why not make your own suits? We may be able to find material in
Jonah, and Benita and I will