ant later he, too, gave a sharp cry of amazement, for he saw,
clinging to the trunk of a floating tree, swiftly moving with those
circling waters, a living being!

And but a few seconds later, Bruno made the same discovery, greatly to
the delight of his younger brother.

"A man! And living, too!"

"Of course; reckon I'd make such a howl about a floater?" bluntly
interjected Waldo. "But I'll do my crowing later on. For now we've got
to get the poor fellow out of that,--just got to yank him out!"

Through all this hasty interchange of words, the aeromotor was swiftly
progressing, and now swung almost directly above the whirlpool, giving
all a fair, unobstructed view of everything below.

The suction was so great that a sloping basin was formed, more than one
hundred yards in diameter, while the actual centre lay a number of feet
lower than the surrounding level.

Half-way down that perilous slope a great tree was revolving, and to
this, as his forlorn hope, clung a half-clad man, plainly alive, since
he was looking upward, and--yes, waving a hand and uttering a cry for
aid and succour.

"Help! For love of God, save me!"

"White,--an American, too!" exploded Waldo, taking action as by
brilliant inspiration. "Hang over him, uncle, for I'm going--to go
fishing--for a man!"

Waldo was tugging at the grapnel and long drag-rope. Bruno was quick
to divine his intention, and lent a deft hand, while the professor
manipulated the helm so adroitly as to keep the flying-machine hovering
directly above yonder imperilled stranger, leaning far over the
hand-rail to shout downward:

"Have courage, sir, and stand ready to help yourself! We will rescue you
if it lies within the possibilities of--we WILL save you!"

"You bet we just will, and right--like this," spluttered Waldo, as he
cast the grapnel over the rail and swiftly lowered it by the rope. "Play
you're a fish, stranger, and when you bite, hang on like grim death to
a--steady, now!"

Fortunately nothing occurred to mar the programme so hastily arranged,
for the drift was drawing nearer the centre of the whirl, and if once
fairly caught by that, nothing human could preserve the stranger from
death.

"Make a jump and grab it, if you can't do better!" cried Waldo,
intensely excited now that the crisis was at hand.

The long rope with its iron weight swayed awkwardly in spite of all he
could do to steady it, and as each one of the three prongs was meant for
catching