ightly.

Yet were they held so securely that he could not free one?

Jack Benson knew that he must, indeed, think fast, now, if he was to
save their lives.

He tried one of the tricks of wrestlers for freeing his right arm.

A shudder passed through the frame of the girl; she clung more
convulsively still.

Then Jack tried another little dodge. This time he nearly freed his
left arm. Summoning all his strength, he gave another tug.

His left arm was free!

Working mightily with it, now, Jack Benson fought his way to the surface.

There was no need to give much heed to his unknown companion. She was
holding to him in a way that insured her rising to the surface with
him.

"Ugh! Whew!" What a mighty breath it was that the young submarine
captain took into his lungs as his head shot into air.

"Oh, you--Benson!" shot from a middy's mouth.

The cry led half a dozen of the young men toward the all but exhausted
rescuer. They came with long, lusty strokes that brought them to Benson,
quickly, while he trod water and tried to raise the face of the girl
above the surface.

The girl's eyes were closed, now, her cheeks pallid and waxen. Twice
her face dropped beneath the surface, but Jack fought to bring her lips
up into the air.

Then strong hands seized them both.

"Untwine the young lady's arms, if you can," begged the submarine boy.

Two of the cadets succeeded in doing this. More midshipmen were about
them, now, yet not one among them could have boasted of being a better
swimmer than was Jack Benson himself.

But now the young skipper of the "Farnum" was plainly exhausted.

Freed of the need of more immediate work, Jack, as soon as he was free,
rolled over on his back, floating.

In the meantime, four other midshipmen swam close to where the girl's
athletic brother had been seen to go down. He came up, at last, more
than half gone, but the middies pounced upon him--and then he was safe.

Hal was at the wheel, now, with Williamson and the naval machinist below
in the engine room. That gave Eph Somers a chance to spring out on
the platform deck with Ensign Trahern and the sole remaining midshipman.

"I'd better run along, now, to pick 'em up, sir, hadn't I?" called Eph
Somers to the naval officer.

"By all means, Mr. Somers."

The steamship's boat, too, pulled by a strong, well-trained crew, was
now getting close to the scene. So it came about that the liner's
lifeboat picked up Jack, the