ng, his
muscles refused to respond to the call of his brain. His grasp on
Dick was loosening, and the thought of this roused him to renew the
struggle. To save Dick he must save himself; he must breathe; he
must not exhaust himself, and above all his mind must not wander. He
was _so_ tired; for himself he would have given up the struggle and
dropped into rest, but for Dick--never! A great calmness came to
him. He rolled over with his head thrown back until all but his face
was under water. This floated clear of the surface as he lay back
and drew air into his smothered lungs in great gulps. He began to
kick out with his feet and was soon swimming on his back toward the
bank, making fair progress with little effort. Some of his strength
came back, and he found that he was easily dragging Dick along,
happily with his face upward. Hope took the place of despair, and
Ned felt that now he could swim for hours. He saw the overhanging
branches of trees above him and knew he was nearing the bank. Then
suddenly he found himself aground on a shoal with water less than
knee-deep. He dragged the unconscious form of his companion into the
jungle on the bank, and a great wave of thankfulness rolled over him
as he felt the weak beating of Dick's heart, which was followed by
the familiar smile as the boy opened his eyes.

[Illustration: "THE HARD, POINTED HEAD OF THE BIG TARPON TORE
THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAGILE CANOE"]

"Well, Neddy, what have you been doing now, and what are you going
to do? Last time I saw you a thousand-pound fish was dropping on
your head. Seems as if he hit me, too."

"Going to make a camp for the two of us, feed us, and get us out of
the wilderness. That's what I am going to do," replied Ned.

"You'll do it, all right; but what have you got to work with?"

"Pocket-knife and some matches. First thing I'll make a fire to dry
you. Then I'll forage. You see, Dick, we've got to stay right here
until you get strong enough to travel. I can make a palmetto shack
big enough to keep the rain off in half a day. The worst trouble
will be fresh water, but I think I can fix that. I know how to get
things to eat. I have picked up a couple of old cocoanuts, and I'll
bring them to you in an hour full of water. Then to-morrow I will
start early and find that old shack where we camped in the
graveyard. You remember that old kettle there? Well, I'll bring it
here full of fresh water. Then if you don't get well pretty quic