for the imperiled
bridge.

"Better come off there, now, Steven!" warned a gentleman who was
standing near the approach to the structure; "there isn't one chance in
a thousand that she'll hold out much longer, and it might be all your
lives are worth to go down with the wreck when the time comes!"

But Steve was young, and filled with the spirit of adventure. Besides,
after having been out there so long he had become partly used to the
sickening tremor, and did not mind its warning as much as before.

"That's for Max to say, Mr. Harding," he called back. "If he thinks
it's getting too dangerous for us, we'll sure come in right away. I've
got to leave it with Max."

Two minutes later and he joined his chums, who were still near the
middle of the bridge, again looking up the river anxiously.

"See another baby coming along?" demanded Steve, as he joined them.

"Not yet, I'm glad to say," replied Max, who was not so inflated over
the grand success that had attended his first life saving effort that
he wanted other opportunities to confront them immediately.

"L-l-looked like they came near p-p-pulling you to p-p-pieces, Steve,"
remarked Toby, with a grin.

"That's right," agreed Steve, frowning; "everybody tried to grab my
hand at the same time, and me a telling them all the while I didn't
have a thing to do with saving the child, only hauling on the rope.
Say, I know now why you wouldn't go ashore, Max; you didn't want to be
mobbed, did you? It's just terrible I'm telling you all. If I ever
save anybody's life I'm going to take to the woods right away, till
everybody forgets it."

"I saw Mr. Harding talking to you; what did he say?" asked Max, smiling
a little to find that Steve was so modest.

"Oh! like a good many more of 'em he thinks we're taking too big
chances staying right along out here, and that we ought to come
ashore," Steve replied.

"He means it for our good, all right," ventured Bandy-legs, "and you
know, fellers, he had a boy drowned year before last, so I reckon he's
worried about us more than a little. What did you tell him, Steve?"

"That I'd leave it to Max here," came the reply.

"Which is putting a lot of responsibility on my poor shoulders,"
remarked that worthy, with a shrug.

"Well, you're our leader, and as long as we believe you know best we
expect to follow out your ideas," Steve went on to say.

"That sounds pretty fine, Steve," observed Max; "but right now if I
told you