e full of water. He kicked the glass out and then, with a
heavier kick, broke away the middle part of the window-sash. The water
did not come quite to the top of the window frame, sure evidence that
there was room for air between the water and the ceiling.

Taking a long breath, but with his heart knocking against his ribs, Ross
dived through the broken window. It is one thing to be able to swim and
dive, it is another to plunge through a splintered window-frame into a
dark house in the middle of the night, with a flood roaring on all
sides.

Was the door into the hall open? On that, success depended.

The boy turned sharply to the left as he came up to the surface and took
breath. His hand struck the top of the door jamb. The door was open, but
the casing was only three inches above the water. Ross dived again
through the door, and, under water, turned to the right. One swimming
stroke brought him to the staircase and he rushed up the few steps at
the top to the room above.

There, by the light of a single candle, he saw Anton, his eager eyes
shining out of his pale face. The crippled boy hobbled across the room
on his crutch and grasped his chum tightly by the shoulder. He was
trembling like an aspen-leaf in the wind.

"Scared, Anton?" said Ross. "I'm not surprised. You've a good right to
be."

"I wasn't so scared," the younger lad replied, with the characteristic
desire of a boy not to be thought cowardly, "I just got to wondering,
that was all."

"Wondering if any one was going to come for you?"

"Yes."

"How did you get left behind, anyhow?" queried Ross.

"Oh, it was my own fault, all right," the crippled lad replied. "It was
all because of the dog. You know, Ross, Lassie had pups, last Monday."

"No, I didn't know about it," responded the older boy. "Why didn't you
tell a fellow?"

"I haven't seen you since," Anton explained. "Well, when the levee broke
and the water commenced to come into the house, Dad and Uncle Jack went
and got the two boats we always keep on the river. Dad picked me up and
carried me down on to the porch. I heard him call to Uncle Jack:

"'You go ahead and get Clara; I've got Anton safe with me.'"

"Then you were with him, weren't you?" queried Ross.

"Sure I was. Just as I was getting into the boat, though, I thought of
Lassie and her puppies and I went back to get them. I called to Dad and
said:

"'I'm just going to fetch Lassie, Dad, and I'll go in Uncle Jack's
boat.'