, he plunged into the stream, and swam boldly out towards the
drowning man. The whirling eddies of the torrent bore the log along,
now carrying it towards one side of the river, now towards the other.
This much increased the difficulty of reaching it. The man clinging to
it had still sufficient consciousness to be aware of the effort made to
save him, but had no strength to help himself. Arthur had swum out very
nearly to the extent of which the rope would allow, and yet he feared
that he should not reach the man. He doubted whether he should be
strong enough to return to the shore without the aid of the rope.

"Stretch out your arms, Willie; give me all the rope you can, but don't
fall in. In mercy take care!" he shouted.

Willie stood on the very edge of the bank uncoiling the whole of the
rope, and keeping only the end in his hands. He dreaded lest, his feet
slipping, he should be dragged in himself; and though he did not fear
for himself, he knew that, if he was dragged in, Arthur would in all
probability be lost. He found that he could not stand still either, but
had to move down the stream, as his brother was swept on by the current.
"If it is difficult to hold him now, what will it be when he grasps the
drowning man?" he thought. He would have shouted for help had he
believed that any one was near to afford it. Arthur, meantime, saw the
drowning man approaching. An eddy seemed to be carrying him off towards
the opposite bank. Should he venture to swim across without the rope?
Had he a right to run so great a risk of losing his life, and bring
grief and sorrow to the heart of his young wife? He prayed for strength
and aid. He was about to loose himself from the rope, when again the
log was whirled near him. The moment for the greatest exertion had
arrived. He sprang forward. His right hand grasped the drowning man,
but the log on which he floated escaped from his hold, and was borne
onwards by the current. As he caught the man, the spring he made and
the additional weight almost overbalanced Willie, who was on the point
of falling into the water, when he found himself close to a young tree,
of the willow tribe, bending over the stream. He grasped it with his
left hand, hauling with all his might till he drew in a sufficient
length of the rope to pass it round the stem. His dread was lest his
brother should sink before he could reach the shore. He then feared
that the man for whom Arthur had ris