as bored
through by the pistol ball. The water poured through the hole, and
Sandy shouted to Gilbert:

"Drop yer paddle; take yer hat an' put it over the leak, tight as yer
kin; bale with the other hand, or we'll sink in a minit. Lily, sit up,
so yer won't get wet; but don't show yer head," and with a courage born
of despair, Sandy renewed his efforts.

Foley was gaining rapidly, and it seemed that only a miracle could
prevent the boy's capture before they reached the Devil's Elbow.

Three minutes passed with only the sound of the lightning-like dip of
the paddles. Another short bend in the channel, and a hundred yards
ahead was the confluence of the two currents, which were ever at war.

"Keep on bailing, Gil," cried Sandy, "an' when we git past the Elbow,
if they're too close to us, I'm goin' to use my pistol on 'em, but I
don't want ter shoot till I can make the shot tell fer all it's worth.
Steady, Lily; hold tight, Gil; don't move, I'll git yer through without
swampin', 'cause I knows every current in the Elbow."

Through the mad swirl of waters the boy held his boat, and steered her
into the quiet tide beyond.

Leander and Dink were just turning the bend of the main channel an
eighth of a mile away, and the skiff containing Foley and Hildey had
reached the outer current of the eddy.

"Now you've got 'em," yelled Hildey, as Sandy's skiff veered to the
left, not twenty yards from the other.

"Not if I knows it," cried Sandy as he shot square at Foley, the ball
going through the sleeve of his coat, but leaving him unharmed.

"Curse yer fer a fool!" came from Foley, dropping his paddle and
standing up in the skiff, which now had nothing to guide it but
Hildey's exhausted arm. The skiff was rocking violently. Foley
attempted to balance himself as he raised his pistol to shoot. In a
flash the frail craft was caught in the conflicting currents, it
careened and capsized, and the two men were battling for life in the
whirlpool.

Sandy was so intent on escape that he had gone some distance down
stream before realizing he was no longer pursued. Suddenly an agonizing
cry was borne on the midnight air:

"Help! Help! I'm drownin'!"

The boy rested on his paddle, and scanned the river in the direction of
the voice.

"Don't let's let 'em drown like rats in a hole," said Sandy, and he
started his boat back toward the bend.

"Gil, gimme yer pistol. They may be tryin' to play some trick on us,
an' if they are, we