Their success was soon apparent, for, after a few seconds, Billy opened his eyes, and looked up at his rescuers.
"Wha—what happened?" he asked feebly.
"You fell in," replied Frank. "But don't talk now. You must be too weak."
"Oh, I'm all right," said Billy, in a stronger voice. "I remember it all now. The limb broke with me, just as I was waving to you fellows. I held my breath, as soon as I struck the water, but I couldn't seem to get to the top."
"No wonder," put in Andy. "Your trousers were caught on a tree branch."
"Oh, that's what it was," went on Billy. "Well, when I couldn't hold my breath any longer, and found that I couldn't get right side up, I thought I was a goner. How did you manage to get me loose?"
Frank told how he had cut the trousers from the entangling limb, and how he had dragged Billy into the boat just in time. The Western boy was gaining strength every moment, and in a short while he had fully recovered from his impromptu bath, save that he was still wet.
"Let's row ashore," proposed Andy, "and get some of the water out of your clothes. Then you won't be so likely to catch cold. What possessed you to go out on that limb?"
"I thought it was a good place to fish," replied Billy. "I could easily throw my line in from the limb, and I never noticed that it was cracked half way through."
"And it was rotten in the bargain," added Frank. "It ought to have been chopped off long ago, or a warning sign put up. Most of our fellows knew about it, though."