not yet
realised his clanger; and making an effort to speak as calmly, I raised
my voice and shouted--

"Of course you don't. Turn round and swim the other way, sloping for
the bank."

He did not answer, but he had evidently heard my words, for he rose in
the water, turned with a bit of a splash, and began to swim in the other
direction; while I followed, keeping close in where there was hardly any
current.

Then I stopped and uttered a hoarse cry, for I saw him suddenly shoot
right out toward the centre of the stream, and begin going down at a
rate that was terrible. For I could see that any attempt to fight
against the stream would be folly; all he could do was to keep himself
afloat, and trust to being swept into some other cross current which
might take him shoreward.

I felt willing enough to go to his help, but I could do nothing, and the
feeling of impotence began to rob me of such little power as I
possessed.

And now I saw that he realised his peril, for he raised one arm above
the water and waved it to me, lowering it again directly, and swimming
with the side-stroke, so that it seemed to me that he was drowning, for
his head was nearly hidden by the water.

"Now, my lads, breakfast," came from the bank, and I saw Gunson appear
from among the pines. "Out with you. Where is Dean?"

I rose in the water, and pointed to where the poor fellow was rapidly
passing out of eye-shot, being now quite three hundred yards away, and
rapidly increasing the distance.

"What madness! He'll be--"

I didn't hear him finish the sentence, but I know what he meant to say;
and in despair I swam to the shallows, waded out, and stood shading my
eyes and watching Esau, who was still afloat, but rapidly being carried
away.

As I reached the bank, I just caught a glimpse of Gunson running along
the clearing beyond the little settlement, and my feeling of despair
increased, for I knew that at the end of the opening the forest went
down to the water's edge, and that any one would have to struggle
through the tangle of branches and fallen trees.

"No," I thought; "he will get a boat."

But I could not remember that there was a boat about the place. I had
not seen one. As I thought all this in a wild, excitable way, I
snatched up some of my clothes, slipped them on partly as I ran; and
even then, incongruous as it may sound, I could not help thinking how
the wet hindered me. Then running on, I came upon Gunson, with