d a
piece of wood to the end of this rope of sheets, so that it would float,
the current would curl it around the corner of the house so that I could
get hold of it from the boat. If your end of the line was made fast up
here, I could hand over hand the boat right under your window, the way
you say. Why, I could get you out without any trouble at all! Let's see
how it goes."

Suiting the action to the word, Ross tied one end of the line of sheets
around the hinge of the door, passed it through the window, and, to the
other end, tied a spare crutch. Then he leaned out of the window and
watched it. The current snatched the crutch down and, as Ross expected,
swung it around the corner of the house.

"Fine," said the lad. "We can work that all right. I'll have you out of
here in two shakes, Anton. Where are the pups?"

Anton pointed to the bed, on which a basket was lying.

"Aren't they dandies?" he said.

Ross took the candle over and picked up one of the pups. Lassie growled
in a low voice.

"All right, Lassie," said Ross, "you ought to know me."

He bent down and patted her.

The dog smelt his hand and whacked her tail on the floor in token of
recognition, but growled again, nevertheless.

"I won't hurt your pup," declared Ross, putting the blind little
creature back in the basket.

"Nicely marked, Anton," he said, "they look great. But we've got to get
busy."

He went to the head of the staircase and stared down.

"It doesn't look a bit nice," he declared, "I sort of hate to go through
there again."

"Why do you?" queried Anton. "You could go down the line and reach the
boat that way."

"That's an idea," declared Ross thoughtfully, then he shook his head.
"No," he said, "my weight would swing the crutch out clear away from the
house. I'd better go down the way I came up. I can always get back,
anyway."

He ran down the staircase until the water reached to his chest and then
struck out. The water had risen slightly, but he got through the door
without any trouble. Passing through the window he was not so lucky, for
a projecting splinter of glass scraped him as he dived through, making a
long but shallow cut in the upper part of his arm.

Rex welcomed him back with short joyful barks.

"I'm not a bit sure," said Ross as he patted the dog, "whether it was
Anton or the pups that you wanted me to rescue, eh? Which was it?"

For answer Rex only wagged his tail and jumped up on his young master.

"Dow