boys now went to a spot a little above where the soldiers were
fishing, and set to work on their own lines. Just as Ferry announced a
fine haul, they threw in, and soon everybody in the party was busy,
bringing in several kinds of fish, big and little, including some fine
trout of a variety the boys had not before seen.

Inside of an hour everybody had all the fish he wanted, and then the
soldiers said they were going to take a swim. The boys were willing, and
soon the whole crowd were in the water, calling out and laughing and
having a good time generally.

"Don't go too far down the stream," cautioned Lambert. "The falls are
below, and you might get caught in the rapids."

"All right, we'll surely remember," answered Joe.

"I'll race you across the river and back," said Darry, a little later.

"Done!" cried Joe. "To what point?"

"To that willow hanging down near the big rock."

So it was agreed, and in a minute both boys were off. They were good
swimmers, and the race interested the soldiers, so that they gave up
sporting around to watch the result.

At this point the stream widened out to nearly two hundred feet, so the
race was not a particularly short one. The water ran quite swiftly, and
they soon found they had to swim partly up stream to prevent being
carried below the willow.

Darry made the mark first, and, touching the willow, started on the
return. Joe was close behind, and now it became a neck-and-neck race
between them.

"Go it, boys!" shouted Lambert. "Do your best!"

"I bet on Joe," said Ferry.

"I bet on Darry," added Biggs.

Hardly had the wager been made when Joe shot ahead. Slowly but surely he
drew away from his cousin.

While the sport was going on nobody had noticed a large tree that was
drifting rapidly down the middle of the river. Now, however, Lambert saw
the danger.

"Look out!" he cried wildly. "Look out! A tree is coming down upon you!"

Joe heard the cry, and looking up the stream managed to get out of the
way of the big piece of driftwood. But Darry was not so fortunate, and
in a twinkling the youth was struck and carried out of sight.

This accident came so quickly that for the moment nobody knew what to
do.

"Darry! Darry!" cried Joe. "Where are you?"

"He went under!" shouted Lambert. "The tree branches struck him on the
head."

"He'll be drowned!" gasped Biggs. "What shall we do?"

By this time the tree had drifted past the point where the soldiers were
st