natch, and caught him by the sleeve as
Vane rose again with his head thrown back and one arm rising above the
water, clutching frantically at vacancy.

The weight of that arm was sufficient to send him beneath the surface
again, and Gilmore's desperate struggle to keep him afloat resulted in
his going under in turn, losing his presence of mind, and beginning to
struggle wildly as he, too, strove to catch at something to keep himself
up.

Another few moments and all would have been over, but the clutch did not
prove to be at vacancy. Far from it. A hand was thrust into his, and
as he was drawn up, a familiar voice shouted in his singing ears, where
the water had been thundering the moment before:

"Catch hold of the side," was shouted; and his fingers involuntarily
closed on the gunwale of the boat, while Macey reached out and seized
Vane by the collar, drew him to the boat, or the boat to him, and guided
the drowning lad's cramped hand to the gunwale too.

"Now!" he shouted; "can you hold on?"

There was no answer from either, and Macey hesitated for a few moments,
but, seeing how desperate a grip both now had, he seized one of the
recovered sculls, thrust it out over the rowlock, and pulled and paddled
first at the side, then over the stern till, by help of the current, he
guided the boat with its clinging freight into shallow water where he
leaped overboard, seized Gilmore, and dragged him right up the sandy
shallow to where his head lay clear. He then went back and seized Vane
in turn, after literally unhooking his cramped fingers from the side,
and dragged him through the shallow water a few yards, before he
realised that his fellow-pupil's other hand was fixed, with what for the
moment looked to be a death-grip, in Distin's clothes.

This task was more difficult, but by the time he had dragged Vane
alongside of Gilmore, the latter was slowly struggling up to his feet;
and in a confused, staggering way he lent a hand to get Vane's head well
clear of the water on to the warm dry pebbles, and then between them
they dragged Distin right out beyond the pebbles on to the grass.

"One moment," cried Macey, and he dashed into the water again just in
time to catch hold of the boat, which was slowly floating away. Then
wading back he got hold of the chain, and twisted it round a little
blackthorn bush on the bank.

"I'm better now," gasped Gilmore. And then, "Oh, Aleck, Aleck, they're
both dead!"

"They aren'