gling figure when it came up. He immediately
dove, and managed to rise to the surface behind Puss. Then, just as the
other was floundering beneath the surface of the agitated water again,
Frank caught hold of his sweater close to his neck, and held on with
might and main.

He had a serious job of it, for the half-drowned lad made a desperate
attempt to turn around, doubtless with the intention of throwing his
arms around his rescuer. This was just what Frank was desirous of
avoiding. He simply wanted to keep the head of Puss above water until
the boat could come and willing hands be stretched down to relieve him
of his burden.

So he kept treading water and fighting Puss off as best he was able. It
was no easy task, since he still had his baseball shoes on; and swimming
in one's clothes is always a difficult proposition. But Frank knew no
such word as fail and continued to strive, keeping one eye on Puss and
the other on the approaching power boat.

"Steady now, Puss!" he kept saying, again and again, trying to instill
some sense in the head of the frantic boy, who still believed he must be
going down again. "Keep your breath in your lungs and you'll float!
Don't kick so; I'm going to hold you up till the boys come. It's all
right, Puss; you're safe!"

All the same Frank was mighty well pleased when the launch did swing
close alongside and half a dozen hands reached out to clutch hold of
them both.

"Puss first, fellows!" he said, with a half laugh. "I can crawl in
myself, I guess." But they would not hear of it, so willing hands lifted
him up as soon as the other dripping figure had been deposited in the
bottom of the boat.

Frank made light of the adventure, after his usual style.

"Oh, come, let up on that!" he remarked, when some of the fellows were
patting him on the back and calling him a hero and all such things that
were particularly disagreeable to Frank. "It was just a cinch to me, you
know. I'm half a water spaniel, anyway. Besides, if it hadn't been for
the way I riled him, Puss wouldn't have fallen overboard. Drop it,
please."

By the time the boat reached the landing near the dock where the lake
steamer touched, Puss seemed to have discharged his cargo of water,
swallowed unintentionally.

He made his appearance, with several cronies clustered about him. Frank
was not the one to hold a grudge. Besides, he had come out of the affair
with flying colors and had nothing to regret. So he strode up t