," answered Nort, his own tones
stronger now. "Not half as bad as I've gotten at football," and he
laughed a little--the most joyful sound any of them had heard since the
sweeping away of the boy rancher.

"Well, now we've found him, the next thing is to get him over here,"
spoke Bud. "Two of us had better swim out there. This water looks to
be all right," and he stooped down and tested it with his hand. "As
warm as the river," he added.

"I'm going to swim out!" declared Dick, and this time, as he began to
"peel," no one stopped him.

"I'll go with you," said Bud. "We'll tie the ropes around our waists
and they can hold them here on shore. It will be better than taking a
risk, using the old tires," he added, "and, while there isn't any
current in the pool now, no telling what may happen."

"Sure you want the ropes," said Old Billee. "But you'd better take a
tire for Nort," and they did.

"Hold hard, Nort!" called Dick, as he and Bud took off their clothes in
preparation for the swim. "We're coming!"

"I'll hold hard all right," came the answer back across the pool. "And
there's something hard here to hold on to, all right."

They did not then realize his meaning, but they understood, later, when
they made a most amazing discovery.

In a few minutes Dick and Bud were in the water, lariats held by those
on "shore" tied around their waists; and the two boy ranchers were
swimming toward the big rock in the middle of the pool. Lanterns at
the edge of this strange underground body of water gave sufficient
light to enable the swimmers, and the others, to see Nort now standing
on the great boulder which emerged from the midst of the black water.

It was the plan of Bud and Dick to help Nort to swim back to where the
others stood, they supporting him on either side. For though Nort was
a better swimmer than his brother, in his weakened condition, hit on
the head as he had said, he might suddenly collapse.

So also might Bud and Dick, or there might suddenly appear a swift
current in the now quiet pool--that is, quiet beyond where the stream
flowed in--and in that latter event the lariats would serve to pull
them all to safety.

"Gee! I thought you were a goner!" gasped Dick, as he climbed out and
clasped his brother by the hand.

"I would have been, only that I floated near this rock, and managed,
half unconscious as I was, to grab hold of a projection and pull myself
up," Nort answered. "That water