Grimly, Nancy Drew applied herself to the oars, although she feared her efforts would be useless in the end. Her arms ached and she was desperately tired. Chilled to the bone by the raw wind, hands numb with cold, she longed to give up the struggle. If only she could drop down in the bottom of the boat beside Helen and rest!

Yet, she could not give up, for she realized that the safety of her companions depended upon her work. She must keep on! As she doggedly bent to her task, the oars creaked protestingly in the locks.

It seemed to Nancy that an unkind fate had decreed the little boat was never to reach shore, for each instant the storm increased in violence. Gigantic waves lashed against the little craft, threatening to bury it. Each flash of lightning and clap of thunder struck the girls with terror.

The strange girl who had braved the elements to rescue Nancy Drew and Helen Corning, permitted herself only a brief rest.

Exhausted as she was, she snatched up an extra oar from the bottom of the boat and attempted to help with the rowing. Working in unison, the two girls sent the little craft leaping through the water. As they made progress against the wind and waves, Nancy took new hope.

“We’ll make it!” she encouraged her companion.

A vivid flash of lightning illuminated the water, and directly ahead, through the rain, Nancy caught a glimpse of the shore line. A feeling of intense relief surged over her.

However, the battle was not yet won, for her companion shouted a sudden warning.

“The rocks! We must be careful or we’ll be dashed against them!”

Scarcely were the words uttered when another flash of lightning disclosed the shore line more distinctly and, straight ahead, the ugly protruding nose of a jagged rock!

For an instant Nancy’s heart leaped into her throat. Would they be dashed on that cruel rock over which the waves were dashing with high-sent spray?

“Oh, we’ll be killed!” gasped the strange girl.

“To the left! To the left!” came the quick answer. “It’s our only hope.”

“We’ll never make it,” was the groaning reply.

“We must!”

It was a critical moment, and Nancy Drew’s heart was in her mouth. But with a deft swerve of her oar she avoided the rock, and an oncoming wave swept them out of danger. Another five minutes and they were in the cove where the water was comparatively quiet.

“Safe!” Nancy murmured.

At last her oars struck a sandy bottom, and, promptly dropping them, she stepped out into water which reached nearly to her knees. Her fellow oarsman followed, and together they pulled the boat up on the beach.

Quickly, they helped Helen Corning to her feet. She was too weak to stand without a supporting arm.

“Oh, where are we?” Nancy cried desperately. “Isn’t there some house near where we can take Helen?”

“There isn’t a cottage within a mile,” the strange girl informed her. “But there’s a boathouse up the shore a little way. If we can get her there⁠—”

“I can walk,” Helen insisted weakly.

Supported on either side, she bravely demonstrated the truth of her assertion. Shivering with cold and excitement, the three bedraggled girls stumbled along the beach.

“Here we are!” the stranger called out presently.

Pausing before a well-built boathouse which stood a short distance from the water’s edge, she flung open the door. In relief, Nancy and Helen entered.

“It’s not a very comfortable place,” the girl apologized; “but perhaps we can wait here until the storm is over. At least it’s better than standing out in the rain.”

Following Nancy and Helen inside, she closed the door.

“It’s as dark as night,” Helen complained.

“I’ll try to find a lamp,” the girl returned. “I’m sure there must be one here.”

She groped about and after a little search found an oil lamp and a box of matches.

“That’s better,” she declared, as she placed the lighted lamp on the window sill. “We can see one another now.”

Not without curiosity, Nancy Drew and Helen Corning surveyed their rescuer. She was a tall, slender girl, with delicately molded features and tragic brown eyes which still held a look of fright. Her dress, a severe black, was unrelieved by any trimming. Yet in spite of the simplicity of her drab garb, she was a pretty girl.

“We haven’t thanked you for saving our lives yet,” Nancy began. “Why, we don’t even know your name.”

“My name?” the girl smiled. “I’m Laura Pendleton.”

Nancy quickly introduced herself and her chum.

“It was fortunate for us that you came to our rescue when you did,” she declared gratefully. “You heard our cries?”

“Yes. I had gone out for a walk along the shore when the storm came up suddenly. I was hurrying back to the hotel when I heard a shout for help. There was no one near by, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Laura nervously twisted her hands as she spoke.

“You found a boat?” Nancy prompted.

“Yes, fortunately there was one on the beach. But I was afraid to attempt the rescue alone.”

“But you did,” Nancy reminded her. “I don’t wonder you were afraid to brave the storm.”

“Oh, it wasn’t just the storm. I’m afraid of water. I always have been. I can’t even swim.”

“You can’t swim?” Nancy gasped. “And you risked your life to save us?”

“There wasn’t any other way,” Laura stated quietly. “I couldn’t let you drown.”

“Laura,” Nancy said feelingly, “Helen and I can’t begin to tell you how grateful we are for what you did. You displayed real courage in rescuing us.”

“It was splendid!” Helen added.

“Oh, I didn’t do anything,” Laura insisted. “I’m not very good at rowing a boat, and if luck hadn’t been with me, I never would have reached you.”

“Do you live near here?” Nancy questioned curiously.

A troubled expression passed over Laura Pendleton’s face.

“I’m staying at the Lakeside Hotel. It’s about a mile from here.”

“You frequently take long walks?” Nancy encouraged her, for she sensed that something was worrying her new friend, and she hoped to draw out her story.

“I do when I’m lonely and discouraged,” Laura answered soberly. She hesitated a moment and then added “You see, I’ve recently lost my mother.”

“Oh,” Nancy murmured gently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you. I should have known⁠—”

“I wanted to tell you. Sometimes it seems as though I must talk to someone. I’m so worried. There’s no one to help or advise me.”

“Your father?”

“He died nearly six years ago. I am an orphan.”

“Surely you have friends to whom you can appeal?”

“I am afraid not. You see, mother was ill for a number of years before she died. We lived in hotels and I took care of her. Our social life was cut off.”

“If there’s any way that Helen and I can help, count on us,” Nancy Drew announced firmly. “If you need money⁠—”

“Oh, it isn’t money,” Laura said quickly. “Mother left an ample fortune. It’s only that I’m lonely and discouraged and I don’t know what my guardian will be like.”

“Your guardian?” Helen questioned curiously.

“Yes. The court appointed Jacob Aborn. I’ve never seen him. He and mother were schoolmates.”

“You dread to meet him?” Nancy asked gently.

“Yes. He’s to come for me in a few days.”

“Surely, if he and your mother were schoolmates, you have no cause for worry.”

“I suppose I am silly,” Laura admitted, “but I can’t help it. I have the strangest feeling.”

“What sort of feeling?” Nancy asked.

“Oh, I can’t explain. It’s just that I feel that something dreadful will happen to me. I’m afraid to meet Jacob Aborn.”

“Perhaps he’s the most kindly man in the world,” Nancy declared. “When will he arrive?”

“That I don’t know. I’m expecting him the latter part of this week. I received a letter from him last week telling me to wait at the Lakeside Hotel until he arrived. His letter was so curt and businesslike that it frightened me.”

“I’m sure everything will come out all right,” Helen assured her kindly.

“Oh, I’m probably worrying when there is no need,” Laura said, forcing a smile. “You must pardon me for troubling you with my story.”

“But we’re interested,” Nancy Drew protested. “I wish we could help you.”

“Well, I don’t need help yet,” Laura laughed. “If I do, I’ll probably call on you. By the way, I don’t know where you live.”

“Oh, we’re spending a few days at a summer camp here on the lake,” Helen informed her.

“Only a few days?”

“We’ll be leaving next week,” Nancy replied. “At least I will. However, I live at River Heights, which is only forty miles from here. I wish you could visit me there.”

“I’d love to come, if my guardian will let me.”

“And you must visit us at the camp,” Helen added enthusiastically.

“Why not come tomorrow afternoon?”

“Perhaps I can, if you really want me,” Laura responded eagerly.

“Of course we want you,” Nancy declared cordially. “However, I warn you that the girls will mob you when they learn you’re a heroine.”

Laura smiled timidly at her new friends.

“Perhaps you’ll visit me sometime at my hotel?”

“We certainly will,” Nancy assured her warmly.

Helen glanced toward the window and for the first time noticed that it had stopped raining.

“The storm is over,” she announced.

“Then I must be getting back to the hotel before I catch my death of cold,” Laura shivered. “I’m chilled to the marrow.”

“So are we,” Nancy commented. “This storm certainly brought cold weather with it.”

“Won’t you come with me to the hotel?”

“Oh, no, we must strike off for camp. The girls will be worried about us,” Nancy Drew said hastily. “Thank you for your kind offer.”

“But you’ll take cold in those wet clothes.”

“The sun is coming out, so we’ll probably dry off before we reach camp. Anyway, you have a walk of nearly a mile before you, and it isn’t much farther to camp.”

“Then if you won’t come, I’ll say goodbye.”

“Before we go we want to thank you again for saving our lives,” Nancy told her earnestly. “I can’t thank you adequately, but if ever I can be of service I hope you will call upon me.”

“I certainly will,” Laura assured her easily.

As the three girls gravely shook hands and parted, Nancy Drew little dreamed that before a fortnight had passed she would be given an opportunity to repay Laura Pendleton in full.