The chute sloped somewhat toward the
middle. Tommy had instinctively kept her head up, arms thrust straight
ahead of her. She began gasping for breath, and, either obeying
Harriet's direction or the instinct of the swimmer, she closed her lips
tightly and held her breath. Her little body flashed through a thick
growth of bushes that hung over the chute at one point. She had seen
the bushes coming at her like a projectile and instinctively lowered
her head before reaching them. But she quickly raised her head again,
uttering an exclamation, as the skin was neatly peeled from the bridge
of her nose.
"Oh, thave me!" groaned Tommy, as the pond rose up to meet her. She
caught and held her breath. When she struck the water a sheet of it
rose up on each side of her just as the water does at the launching of
a steamship, only there was much less displacement in Tommy's case. To
her amazement she skimmed along the surface a few feet before she began
to settle. Unfortunately, at about that time Tommy opened her mouth
for a breath of fresh air. Instead she got a mouthful of water. She
began to kick and struggle.
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