"There's the broken limb!" cried Andy, as it swirled up into view, having been sucked down under the surface.
"And there are Billy's legs!" added Frank. "Look! his trousers are caught on a sharp, broken limb, and he's being held head down!"
"Sure enough!" cried Andy.
"Lively!" yelled his brother. "We've got to get him up quick, or he'll be drowned! You manage the boat, Andy, and I'll see what I can do."
Frank unshipped his oars, and Andy bent his strength against that of the current, to hold the boat near the drifting branch, around which the luckless lad's legs were tangled.
"Cut him loose! Cut him loose! Use your knife!" cried Andy, as he saw his brother vainly endeavoring to disentangle the hem of the trousers from the sharp projection.
"Right, oh!" cried Frank, as he whipped out his keen-bladed knife. In another instant he had cut the cloth. Instantly Billy's feet and legs disappeared beneath the surface of the eddy.
"He—he's gone!" faltered Andy.
"He had to put his legs down to get his head up," said Frank. "Look out for him when——"
He did not have time to say more, for, at that instant, the body of Billy shot up head foremost, floating clear of the entangling branch.