The Mystery at Bob-White Cave

water beyond the cove, clearly losing strength. He had no chance of reaching his overturned boat. Jim swam like a water rat, while Trixie, with strong, even strokes, followed close behind him.
    “Stay with the boat, Honey,” Brian called back. “Pull it over here when we reach him!”
    Jim, pushing himself at an amazing pace, reached the man first and tried to grasp the neck of his shirt to keep him afloat. Frenzied, the man put both arms around Jim’s neck, pulling them both underwater.
    Jim bobbed to the surface, gasped desperately for breath, and shook the drowning man like a terrier to try to loosen his spasmodic grip. Trixie, closing in, with the boys right behind her, grasped the man’s fingers and twisted them to break his hold. He fought her with all his might, his face distorted in agony, but Trixie persisted, twisting vainly to free Jim’s throat. Then, before Brian or Mart could help her, she drew back her doubled fist and brought it up sharply under the elderly man’s chin. It struck with such force that at once the stunned man relaxed his hold.
    It was a matter of seconds for Brian and Mart to take over. Mart freed Jim and began swimming back to the boat, pulling Jim’s weakened body after him. Brian grasped the elderly man under his chin and swam with short, fast scissors kicks and a fast arm pull. After a few strokes, he slid his hand down across the chest of the inert man and towed him. Trixie then righted the man’s boat, retrieved the floating oars, and pulled the boat through the water.
    All of them converged on the lodge boat, which Slim, at Honey’s urging, propelled toward them.
    Trixie held the elderly man’s boat still while Brian hoisted him in. He was already showing signs of returning strength when Brian took up the oars.
    As the two of them headed toward shore, Trixie, her face reflecting the deep anxiety she felt for Jim, swam toward the lodge boat.
    “What do you know, Trix?” Mart said as she climbed aboard. “Jim even swam part of the way here.”
    “It would take more than that to knock me out,” Jim said huskily. “Don’t think I don’t know what you did, though, Trixie... all of you, for that matter. That man’s arms are made of steel.” He rubbed his throat.
    Back where you come from, does it always take three men and a girl to rescue a person?” Slim asked sarcastically.
    “Back where we come from,” Trixie answered coldly, “we don’t draw straws when a man is drowning.”
    “If you mean why didn’t I go for him, too, I’ll tell you. With four of you in the water before I could say scat, I wasn’t hankerin’ for no swim. I figured, too, that a man with horse sense wouldn’t go out in no boat lessen he could swim. I ain’t no coward.”
    The Bob-Whites neither affirmed nor denied his statement. Paying no attention whatever to Slim, Trixie said, “We’ll take the man to Mrs. Moore. She’ll know what to do.”
    By the time they had beached the boat, the elderly man had regained some strength. “I think I can walk now,” he told the Bob-Whites. “Sorry to be so much trouble to you all.”
    He couldn’t really walk steadily, however, and the boys half carried him the rest of the way up the path to the lodge.
    Mrs. Moore and Linnie ran out to meet them, and Mrs. Moore told them to take the man into the living room and bring pillows and blankets. For a while they were so busy getting hot coffee and hot-water bottles for the man that no one had a chance to explain what had happened.
    When the revived man tried to talk, Mrs. Moore shushed him and directed the Bob-Whites to get into dry clothing immediately. Honey, who hadn’t been in the water, could help her, and Linnie prepared some hot food while Uncle Andrew sat with the patient. “There’s plenty of time to tell what happened,” Mrs. Moore said. “We don’t want to add pneumonia to our troubles.
    The Bob-Whites obediently started upstairs, talking and gesturing vigorously.
    Slim had been leaning against the doorjamb. “I’ll come back later if you ’uns want to try it again today,” he said.
    He was out and astride his mule before anyone could answer.
    “I doubt very much that there will be another expedition today,” Uncle Andrew said.
    “Uncle Andrew, please!” Trixie begged from the stairs.
    “We’ll find out first what this is all about,” her uncle said. “It looks as though a tragedy has been averted. That’s no laughing matter.”
    “Everything’s all right now,”