gain; but as he reached the boat's side, which was now an
inch or two above, now the same distance below, he drew the lad flat on
the surface, passed his hands beneath him, got hold of the gunwale, and
half rolled Dick in, half drew the boat beneath him.

"Mind he don't come out that side, lad," shouted Josh.

"Ay, ay!" And then Will held on by one side of the sunken boat, while
Josh held on the other.

So slight was the buoyancy of the filled boat that the slightest touch
in the way of pressure sent it down, and Dick could have drowned as
easily there as in the open sea, but that, feeling something hard
beneath him, a spark of hope shot to his brain, and he began to struggle
once more.

"Keep still," shouted Will. "Lie back with your head on the gunwale;"
and Dick obeyed, content to keep his face just above water so that he
might breathe.

"It arn't much help, but it are a bit of help, eh, lad?" panted Josh.
"Way oh! Steady!"

"Yes, it is a rest, Josh," panted back Will, whose spirits rose from
somewhere about despair-point to three degrees above hope; but in his
effort to get a little too much support from that which was not prepared
to give any, he pressed on the gunwale at his side, and sent it far
below the surface, drawing from Josh the warning shout, "Way oh!
Steady!"

The slightest thing sent the gunwale under--in fact, the pressure of a
baby's hand would have been sufficient to keep it below the surface; but
the experienced swimmers on either side knew what they were about, and
after seeing that Dick's face was above water, and without any
consultation, both being moved by the same impulse, they threw
themselves on their backs beside the sunken boat, one with, his head
towards her stem, the other head to stern, and after a moment's pause
each took hold of the gunwale lightly with his left hand, his right
being free, and then they waited till they began to float upward.

"Ready, lad?" said Josh.

"Ready," cried Will.

"Both together, then."

Then there was a tremendous splashing as each turned his right-hand into
a scoop and began to throw out the water with a skilful rapid motion
somewhat similar to the waving of the fin of a fish; and this they kept
up for quite five minutes, when Josh shouted again:

"Easy!"

There was not much result. They had dashed out a tremendous quantity of
water, but nearly as much had flowed in again over the sides, as in
their efforts they had sometimes dragged