CHAPTER XV
IN THE TOWN
"Hello! Nappy's overboard!"
"Wow! that was some crack on the ear!"
"Can he swim?"
"Sure, he can swim! If he can't we can haul him in easy enough."
"I don't believe the river is very deep here."
Such were some of the words uttered immediately after the well-delivered blow from Jack Rover had sent his opponent spinning into the swiftly flowing waters of the Rick Rack River. Fortunately, the moon and the stars were shining brightly, so it was not as dark as it otherwise might have been. Indeed, had it not been for the brightness of the night it is doubtful if the fight could have been carried on as already described.
All of the cadets present lined up along the river bank, and an instant later saw Nappy Martell come to the surface. He was striking out wildly and spluttering at the same time, showing that he had gone overboard with his mouth open and had swallowed some of the water. One hand and shoulder were covered with mud from the river bottom, for at that particular point the stream was less than five feet deep.
"Oh, he'll be drowned! I know he'll be drowned!" screamed Codfish in terror.