alise how deep
and how swift was the current; yet his horse seemed to betray no
uneasiness, and the river deepened only very slightly as they pushed
forward. He therefore grasped the Korean's bridle more firmly, took his
own bridle between his teeth, so as to have one hand free, drew his feet
out of the stirrups in order to get clear of the horse if the animal
were washed off its feet, and brought his open hand down with a
resounding smack upon the brute's hind-quarters.

With a snort, the beast plunged forward with a rush, the mule following
reluctantly after, with Ling clinging desperately to its neck.
Fortunately the water remained shallow, and the adventurous Englishman
was just congratulating himself on getting safely across without mishap
when there came a despairing shriek from Ling, the bridle was wrenched
from Frobisher's hand, and he wheeled in the saddle in the nick of time
to see Ling's mule lose its footing and sink back into the swirling
torrent, flinging the shrieking Korean off its back into the water. The
man immediately disappeared from view, all that was visible of him being
a hand and an arm, waving frantically to and fro and clutching
helplessly at the empty air. Evidently the mule had planted its foot in
a hole, stumbled, and been swept off the narrow ford into deep water;
and, unless something were done quickly, it looked as though Ling were
in danger of being drowned.

The Korean had twice attempted to take Frobisher's life, and it would
have been far more convenient and safer, as regarded himself, for the
leader of the expedition to have let the man drown; but that leader was
an Englishman, with all an Englishman's traditions behind him, and he
could not stand idly by and see a fellow creature perish, however
well-deserving of such a fate the man might be. So, without a moment's
hesitation, Frobisher dragged his horse's head round by main force, and
urged him, by voice, heel, and hand, off the causeway into the flood,
and headed downstream after Ling, who had by this time risen to the
surface and was yelling madly for mercy and help. But the sailor soon
perceived that if he pursued his present tactics the Korean would be
swept away and drowned before being overtaken; so, casting his eyes
keenly about him, Frobisher picked out a spot a little distance lower
down, where the banks appeared slightly less steep than elsewhere, and
urged his animal in that direction.

Presently he was fortunat