ect to the shore of this broad lake.

As soon as the rope was made fast, and the strain taken off their
muscles as well as their minds, Bruno flashed a look around, naturally
turning his eyes in the direction of the whirlpool.

Although less than a couple of minutes had elapsed since the man was
lifted off the circling drift, even thus quickly had the end drawn nigh;
for, even as he looked that way, Gillespie saw the great trunk sucked
into the hidden sink, the top rising with a shiver clear out of the
water as the butt lowered, a hollow, rumbling sound coming to all ears
as--

"Gone!" cried Bruno, in awed tones, as the whole drift vanished from
sight for ever.

"Sucked in by Jonah's whale, for ducats!" screamed Waldo, excitedly.
"Fetch on your blessed 'sour-us' of both the male and female sect! Trot
'em to the fore, and if my little old suck don't take the starch out of
their backbones,--they DID have backbones, didn't they, uncle Phaeton?"

Professor Featherwit frowned, and shook his head in silent reproof.
More nearly, perhaps, than either of the boys, he realised what an awful
peril this stranger had so narrowly escaped. It was far too early to
turn that escape into jest, even for one naturally light of heart.

He leaned over the hand-rail, peering downward. He could see the rescued
man sitting firmly in the bend of the grapnel, one hand tightly gripping
the rope, its mate shading his eyes, as he stared fixedly towards
the whirling death-pool, from whose jaws he had so miraculously been
plucked.

There was naught of debility, either of body or of mind, to be read in
that figure, and with his fears on that particular point set at rest,
for the time being, Professor Featherwit called out, distinctly:

"Is it all well with you, my good friend? Can you hold fast until the
shore is reached, think?"

"Heaven bless you,--yes!" came the reply, in half-choked tones. "If I
fail in giving thanks--"

"Never mention it, friend; it cost us nothing," cheerily interrupted the
professor, then adding, "Hold fast, please, and we'll put on a wee bit
more steam."

The flying-machine was now fairly headed for a strip of shore which
offered an excellent opportunity for making a safe landing, and as that
accelerated motion did not appear to materially affect the stranger, it
took but a few minutes to clear the lake.

"Stand ready to let go when we come low enough, please," warned the
professor, deftly managing his pet machin