unning current was apt to make one dizzy. The lad, however,
stepped forward without hesitation and advanced slowly but with
certainty.

The three warriors, who stood facing him on the shore, showed that like
Deerfoot the Shawanoe, they possessed a certain vein of waggery, for at
the moment Jack was over the middle of the stream, one of them stooped,
and, grasping the head of the trunk, moved it quickly fully a couple of
feet to the right, all three bursting into an audible snicker at the
same moment. The lad was looking downward, meanwhile stepping carefully,
when he glanced across to learn the meaning of the action, the stooping
Indian being in his field of vision.

Jack understood the trick, but he was without the means of defeating it.
He stooped quickly with the intention of grasping the support with both
hands, but before he could do so, he lost his balance, flung his arms
aloft, and down he went with a loud splash that sent the spray flying in
all directions.

No audience of countrymen ever laughed more heartily at the ancient
jokes of a clown than did the five Indians when the boy disappeared
under the water, his eyes staring with the shock of affright which came
with his sudden contact with the current.

Jack was a capital swimmer, and he was satisfied there was no wish to
drown him; but he had scarcely passed below the surface, when it
occurred to him that there was a possibility of turning the jest upon
his captors. The water was very deep, and he kept sinking until his feet
softly touched the bottom. As he gave himself the slight impulse which
sent him upward again, he not only swam swiftly with the rapid current,
but moved as close to shore as possible, and began creeping up the side
of the bank.

In doing this, he over-estimated his own strength. It took him a longer
time to reach the surface than he calculated upon, and he narrowly
escaped strangling; but he resolutely held out to the last second.

At the moment the rushing waters seemed to roar through his brain, his
crown cleft the surface, and he drew a deep inspiration of the blessed
air; but, even in that trying moment, he kept his self-possession, and
the breath was taken so softly that no ear beside his own knew it.

He had emerged close to shore and directly under some overhanging brush,
which was not so dense as he could wish, since he was able to see the
warriors standing on the land and looking for him. It followed,
therefore, that if th