and Dave had both straightened up to watch him. At the stern of the
raft Dave tried to pull up his pole for another good push, but it stuck
fast in the mud at the bottom of the dam, and before Dave knew what he was
about, the raft shot from under his feet, and he went overboard with his
pole in his hand, as if he were taking a flying leap with it. The next
minute he dropped into the water heels first, and went down out of sight.
He came up blowing water from his mouth, and holloing and laughing, and
took after the raft, where the other fellows were jumping up and down, and
bending back and forth, and screaming and yelling at the way he looked
hurrying after his pole, and then dangling in the air, and now showing his
black head in the water like a musk-rat swimming for its hole. They were
having such a good time mocking him that they did not notice how his push
had sent the raft swiftly in under the trees by the shore, and the first
thing they knew, one of the low branches caught them, and scraped them
both off the raft into the water, almost on top of Dave. Then it was
Dave's turn to laugh, and he began: "What's the matter, boys? Want to help
find the other end of that pole?"

Jake was not under the water any longer than Dave had been, but Frank did
not come up so soon. They looked among the brush by the shore, to see if
he was hiding there and fooling them, but they could not find him. "He's
stuck in some snag at the bottom," said Dave; "we got to dive for him";
but just then Frank came up, and swam feebly for the shore. He crawled out
of the water, and after he got his breath, he said, "I got caught, down
there, in the top of an old tree."

"Didn't I tell you so?" Dave shouted into Jake's ear.

"Why, Jake was there till I got loose," said Frank, looking stupidly at
him.

"No, I wasn't," said Jake. "I was up long ago, and I was just goin' to
dive for you; so was Dave."

"Then it was that other fellow," said Frank. "I thought it didn't look
overmuch like Jake, anyway."

"Oh, pshaw!" Dave jeered. "How could you tell, in that muddy water?"

"I don't know," Frank answered. "It was all light round him. Looked like
he had a piece of the rainbow on him, or foxfire."

"I reckon if I find him," said Dave, "I'll take his piece of rainbow off'n
him pretty quick. That's the fourth time that feller's fooled us to-day.
Where d'you s'pose he came up? Oh, _I_ know! He got out on the other side
under them trees, while we was hu