They often pulled into the still pools, or meadow ponds, opening into the river, and plucked water-lilies. Nancy never did this without remembering her adventures before she came to Pinewood Hall--the occasion when she had helped save Bob Endress from drowning.
Bob was now a lordly senior at Dr. Dudley's Academy. Nancy had only seen him flashing past the girls' boathouse in the Academy eight. Bob was stroke of his school's first crew. Nancy often wondered if he had learned to swim yet.
One evening when the two chums from Number 30, West Side (they had held their old room for another term, as sophs often did at Pinewood Hall), arrived at the little dock where the private boats were kept, they saw that their own skiff was in the water.
"Hullo!" exclaimed Jennie. "Some of the girls have been using the _Beauty_. What do you know about that?"
They began to run. One girl popped up out of the boat, saw them, and immediately climbed out upon the dock. It was Grace Montgomery.
"Well, will you look who's here!" ejaculated Jennie. "Who invited _you_ to play in our yard, Miss?"
"Oh, never mind, Jennie!" begged Nancy, pulling at her chum's sweater.
"I'm not going to have anybody take our boat without permission. Who is that other one? Why, it's Cora, of course! Get out of that!" commanded Jennie, much more harshly than Nancy had ever heard her speak before.
"Dear me! I didn't know it was _your_ boat, Jennie," said Grace, airily.
"Nor I," chimed in Cora. "You can be sure I wouldn't have got into the sloppy old thing, if I had."
"Go 'long, chile!" spoke Jennie, scornfully. "It wouldn't matter to you whose boat it was. Your appreciation of personal property is warped."
"Just so," returned Jennie. "Come on, Nance. We'll get a padlock for our boat-chain to-morrow."
When they had pushed off and were out of hearing of the girls on the dock, Nancy said, admonishingly:
"Why say things to stir them up? It does no good."
"Oh, fudge! What does it matter? Do you suppose that I care if Grace or Cora 'have a mad on' at me? Much!" and Jennie snapped her fingers.
They were pulling out into the river. The sun was already below the hills; but the light was lingering long in the sky and on the water. The chums had an objective point in a little cove across the river, where splendid lilies grew.