THE ACCIDENT


"Betty, is she dead?"

"Oh, I hope not," said Betty, white-faced and pitying, as she bent over
the little old woman. "That man ought to be hung! I'll loosen her collar.
And, Grace, see if you can find some water. Hurry, dear."

And while the girls are ministering to the poor little victim of the
accident, the opportunity will be taken to tell new readers something
about the Outdoor Girls and their activities and adventures in other
volumes of this series.

Betty Nelson, gay and fun-loving, possessed the natural gift of leadership
which had earned for her the title of "Little Captain." The girls adored
her and followed her unquestioningly wherever she led.

Grace Ford was a graceful, tall, pretty girl with a decided and insatiable
fondness for chocolate candy. At the outbreak of the war, or rather, at
the time of America's entry into the war, her brother Will had caused her
great unhappiness by his failure to enlist with the other boys of her
acquaintance. The mystery had been satisfactorily explained later,
however, and when this story opens, Will was on his way to make a splendid
soldier in America's army of democracy.

There was a bit of French blood in Mollie Billette, or "Billy," as the
girls sometimes called her. Bright black eyes which could, upon occasion,
snap fire and a rather unruly temper attested to this French ancestry.