r of his
self-possession. In a moment he had regained the only position in
which he could breathe comfortably. Then, because the sun was beating
down too fiercely on the top of his head, he carefully drew the bushy
top of the poplar sapling into such a position that it gave him shade.
As its roots were still aground, it showed no tendency to float off
and forsake him in his plight.

A very little consideration, accompanied by a cautious investigation
with his free foot, speedily convinced Barnes, who was a practical
woodsman, that the trap in which he found himself caught could be
nothing else than a couple of interlaced, twisted branches, or roots,
of some tree which had fallen into the pool in a former caving-in of
the bank. In that dark deep wherein his foot was held fast, his mind's
eye could see it all well enough--the water-soaked, brown-green,
slimy, inexorable coil, which had yielded to admit the unlucky member,
then closed upon the ankle like the jaws of an otter trap. He could
feel that grip--not severe, but uncompromisingly firm, clutching the
joint. As he considered, he began to draw comfort, however, from the
fact that his invisible captor had displayed a certain amount of give
and take. This elasticity meant either that it was a couple of
branches slight enough to be flexible that held him, or that the
submerged tree itself was a small one, not too steadfastly anchored
down. He would free himself easily enough, he thought, as soon as he
should set himself about it coolly and systematically.

Taking a long breath he sank his head under the surface, and peered
downward through the amber-brown but transparent gloom. Little gleams
of brighter light came twisting and quivering in from the swirls of
the outer current. Barnes could not discern the bottom of the pool,
which was evidently very deep; but he could see quite clearly the
portion of the sunken tree in whose interwoven branches he was held. A
shimmering golden ray fell just on the spot where his foot vanished to
the ankle between two stout curves of what looked like slimy brown
cable or sections of a tense snake body.

It was, beyond question, a nasty-looking trap; and Barnes could not
blink the fact that he was in a tight place. He lifted his face above
the surface, steadied himself carefully, and breathed deeply and
quietly for a couple of minutes, gathering strength for a swift and
vigorous effort. Then, filling his lungs very moderately, the bette