l defined, and
although the stream was so crooked that it flowed by turns to every
point of the compass, its general trend was to the west. The river
broadened and the channel deepened, the forest on the banks became
more heavily timbered, and the boys recognized the beautiful Rodgers
River. Curlews and water-turkeys watched them from the trees; herons
flew lazily up from the shoals as the canoe approached; porpoises,
going out with the tide, rolled their backs out of water and gave
sniffs of affright as they saw the canoe beside them. The fin of a
great shark, longer than their canoe, cut the water as its owner
swiftly pursued a six-foot tarpon, which escaped by leaping in the
air within thirty feet of the canoe, toward which it was headed.
Another clash of the shark brought its huge body within its length
of the boys, while the great mouth, with its rows of serrated
teeth, razor-sharp, opened wide to take in the tarpon, which leaped
wildly ten feet in the air, and turning, plunged head-down straight
for Ned as he sat in the canoe, paddle in hand. Dick started up from
his seat, while Ned tried to fend off with the paddle, but the hard,
pointed head of the big tarpon tore through the bottom of the
fragile canoe as if it had been paper. A minute later the shattered
canoe was floating down the river, while everything sinkable had
gone to the bottom.

[Illustration: "PORPOISES ROLLED THEIR BACKS OUT OF THE WATER"]

Tom, who had been asleep in the bottom of the canoe, was swimming
for shore, and Ned, who had not for a second lost his presence of
mind, was treading water and supporting the unconscious Dick, who
had been struck by the tail of the tarpon as the big fish crushed
the canoe. Even as the tarpon struck the canoe Ned was reaching out
for Dick, and the boys went down together.

Then to Ned came the struggle for life--for two lives. His only
thought was of Dick. Dick mustn't drown; Dick's face must be kept
out of the water; he must get Dick ashore. He swam high, wasting his
efforts to keep Dick's head above the surface. Strength goes fast
when one struggles in the water, and Ned was soon gasping for
breath. As he struck out more and more feebly for the bank, while
the current swept him down the stream, he sank lower and lower,
until only his eyes were above the surface and his lungs seemed
bursting for want of air. A great shark swept past him, and the wave
from the big fish rolled over him. He felt his senses goi