Page:Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake.djvu/100

90 was so good of you, Bet, to ask us on this cruise."

Why, that's what the boat is for for one's friends. We are all shipmates now."

Strike up a song, here comes a sailor, chanted Grace, rather indistinctly, for she was, as usual, eating a chocolate.

The girls, standing there on the little depressed deck, their hair tastefully arranged, topped by natty little caps, with their sailor suits of blue and white, presented a picture that more than one turned to look at. The Gem was near the shore, along which ran a main-traveled highway, and there seemed to be plenty of traffic this morning. Also, a number of boats were going up or down stream, some large, some small, and often the occupants turned to take a second look at the Outdoor Girls.

Certainly they had every appearance of living the life of the open, for they had been well tanned by the long walk they took, and that "berry-brown" was being added to now by the summer sun reflecting from the river.

"Is this as fast as you can go?" asked Mollie, as she looked over the side and noted that they were not much exceeding the current of the river.

"Indeed, no! Look!" cried Betty, as she