dier said was true. The
under branches of the drifting tree had hit some sharp rocks below the
river's surface, and one branch had wedged itself fast.

This catching of the driftwood bent down the limb that held Darry, and
soon they saw that the imperiled boy was free from the grip which had
held him. But what to do next the lad did not know. To swim to the shore
was out of the question.

"I--I can't make it," he told himself, as he panted for breath. He was
so exhausted that he felt very much like fainting away. But he knew he
must keep his senses, or all would be over with him.

"Darry! Darry! Are you much hurt?" called out Joe.

"Not much, but I--I can't--swim--ashore!" was the gasped out answer.

"I'll try the fishing lines again," said Lambert, and prepared them once
more. A first cast did not reach Darry, but a second did, and he caught
the sinkers to the lines with a good deal of satisfaction.

"Will they hold?" questioned Joe.

"I hope so," answered Lambert. "Anyway, it's the best we can do."

Letting the lines run out as far as possible, the soldiers and Joe moved
up the bank of the stream to where there was a series of rocks
projecting into the water a distance of several yards.

"Now brace me, and I will haul in," said Lambert. Then he called to
Darry to help them by swimming as well as he was able, with the lines
caught around him, under the arms.

"All right, I'm ready!" cried the boy, and dropped into the stream,
taking care to steer clear of the tree.

Lambert hauled in slowly but steadily. The line straightened out and
became taut, and looked as if it might snap at any instant. Joe's heart
came up into his throat, and he breathed a silent prayer that his cousin
might be saved.

"Here he comes!" muttered Lambert at length, and they could see that
Darry's feet at last rested on the sandy bottom of the river. They
continued to haul in, and soon he was safe. When on shore he pitched
himself on the grass, completely exhausted.

"Oh, how glad I am!" cried Joe, as he knelt beside his cousin. "I was
almost certain you'd be drowned!"

"It was a narrow escape!" answered Dairy, when he could speak. "When the
tree first struck me I was almost stunned, and when I realized what had
happened I found myself fast and hardly able to budge. Just look there!"
And he showed a deep scratch on one side of his body and a heavy red
mark on the other. "But never mind," he went on. "I am thankful my life
was spare