was up in the bow, looking intently at the _Defiance_. And
now as Gladys came up to get the straight course again, something went
wrong. By some mistaken handling of her helm she had lost her proper
direction, and to her amazement Bessie saw the boom come over sharply.
She saw it, too, strike Gladys on the head--and the next moment the
_Defiance_ gybed helplessly, while Gladys was swept overboard.

Bessie did not hesitate a moment. She had seen that blow struck by the
boom, and with a cry of warning she plunged overboard as they swept by
the helpless _Defiance_, and with powerful strokes made for the
place where Gladys had gone overboard. Gladys had gone straight down,
but Bessie had marked the spot, and she dived as she reached it, and met
her coming up. She clutched her in a moment, and was on the surface
almost at once, holding Gladys, and looking for Dolly and the
_Eleanor_. Dolly would return for her at once, she knew, if she had
seen Gladys go over. But, to her amazement the sloop was heading for the
bar, sailing away from her fast! Dolly had not seen her and, for a
moment, Bessie was badly scared.

CHAPTER XI

THE RESCUE

In a moment, however, she realized that she could not be left alone for
long. Her absence from the _Eleanor_ would be noticed, even if no
one had seen her leap overboard; and, moreover, the strange behavior of
the _Defiance_ was sure to attract Dolly's attention, for, without
Gladys to direct her, the _Defiance_ was in a bad way. She had
heeled over sharply, and seemed now to be sailing in circles, following
the errant impulses of the wind, which caught first one sail, then
another.

Although she was quite near the _Defiance_, Bessie looked for no
help from her. To swim toward her, with Gladys as a burden, seemed
hopeless. The boat was not staying in one position. And moreover, Marcia
Bates and the other girl on board of her seemed almost entirely ignorant
of what to do. They would have quite enough, on their hands in trying to
get her headed for the opening in the bar.

And suddenly a new danger was added to the others. For Gladys, it
seemed, was recovering her senses--or, rather, she was no longer
unconscious. To her horror, Bessie found, as Gladys opened her eyes,
that she was delirious. That, of course, was the effect of the blow on
her head from the boom, but its effect, no matter what the cause, was
what worried Bessie.

"Keep still! Don't move, Gladys!" warned Bessie, as